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Iraq Study Group: Déjà Vu All Over Again.
I’ve always had a lot of respect for James A. Baker III and Lee Hamilton. Their insightful observations and conclusions contained within the Iraq Study Group only heightened that respect. I was profoundly disappointed after the Bush administration had rejected their advice and had done so, sadly, rather summarily.
But wait! Maybe there is hope! Today’s Washington Post:
After an initially tepid reception from policymakers, the recommendations of the Iraq Study Group are getting a second look from the White House and Congress, as officials continue to scour for bipartisan solutions to salvage the American engagement in Iraq.
With negotiations continuing this week on a new war funding bill, the administration is strongly signaling that it would accept the idea of requiring the Iraqi government to meet political benchmarks or else risk losing some assistance from the United States. That was one of the key proposals from the group headed by former secretary of state James A. Baker III and former Indiana congressman Lee H. Hamilton, but it was initially dismissed by the White House when first proposed last December.
The administration is also preparing for its first substantive discussions with Iran, to begin on Memorial Day, not long after its first high-level talks with Syria in more than two years. The Iraq Study Group had strongly urged such regional diplomacy aimed at fostering a political settlement and bringing down the sectarian violence in Baghdad.
“They are coming our way,” Hamilton said in a recent interview.
We’ll see what happens. Stay tuned.
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3 Responses to “Iraq Study Group: Déjà Vu All Over Again.”
I always wondered if Hamilton and Baker had put “victory” language in the plan, if Bush would have opted for the surge. When he found out that the group basically just wanted to try to do damage control in the region, he went to AEI and got the neocons to draw up an alternative that later became the surge. The JCS, and Gens Abidizaid and Casey wanted nothing to do with it so he general shopped until he found Petraeus, who was willing to give it a shot. Thereafter it was sold to Congress and the public as Petraeus’ plan, lol. That allowed Bush to keep his victory rhetoric and it also stopped all that pesky talk about his daddy’s friends having to go to Iraq to bail lil’ Bush out!
The administration doesn’t compromise, it stalls for time so it can run a bait and switch. Thats all this is.
Slightly OT…regarding “lil’ Bush”, it looks like Comedy Central is going to start having a new cartoon series called “Lil’ Bush” starting in June (I believe June 13) and the little promos look funny! I’m not sure if any other president in history has had as much television lampooning about him while still in office, especially whole shows (Anyone remember “That’s My Bush” by the guys who did South Park?). I guess when there is so much material to work with, it’s hard to resist.