Iraq Study Group: Shift mission, go regional
The panel's report recommended engaging Syria, Iran, and others in stabilizing Iraq.
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For all their emphasis on the dire straits the US is encountering in Iraq, the study group members emphasized as a group the need to do something different from the policy the US is following today. Said commission member Alan Simpson, a former Republican senator from Wyoming: "Maybe [our work] is corny, maybe it won't work. But it sure ... [is] better than sitting there where we are right now."
On diplomacy vis-à-vis Iraq
"The United States should immediately launch a new diplomatic offensive to build an international consensus for stability in Iraq and the region. This ... effort should include every country that has an interest in avoiding a chaotic Iraq, including all of Iraq's neighbors. Iraq's neighbors and key states in and outside the region should form a support group to reinforce security and national reconciliation within Iraq...."
On US troop levels
"The primary mission of US forces in Iraq should evolve to one of supporting the Iraqi army, which would take over primary responsibility for combat operations. By the first quarter of 2008, subject to unexpected [security] developments ..., all combat brigades not necessary for force protection could be out of Iraq. At that time, US combat forces in Iraq could be deployed only in units embedded with Iraqi forces, in rapid-reaction and special operations teams [to focus on strikes against Al Qaeda in Iraq], and in training, equipping, advising, force protection, and search and rescue."
"The United States must not make an open-ended commitment to keep large numbers of American troops deployed in Iraq."
On the US role in the Middle East
"There must be a renewed and sustained commitment ... to a comprehensive Arab-Israeli peace on all fronts: Lebanon, Syria, and President Bush's June 2002 commitment to a two-state solution for Israel and Palestine. This commitment must include direct talks with, by, and between Israel, Lebanon, Palestinians – those who accept Israel's right to exist – and Syria."
On Iraq's responsibilities
"If the Iraq government demonstrates political will and makes substantial progress toward the achievement of milestones on national reconciliation, security, and governance, the United States should make clear its willingness to continue training, assistance, and support for Iraq's security forces and to continue political, military, and economic support. If the Iraqi government does not make substantial progress toward the achievement of [those] milestones ..., the United States should reduce its ... support for the Iraqi government."
On the panel's intent
"Success [in Iraq] depends on the unity of the American people in a time of political polarization. Americans can and must enjoy the right of robust debate within a democracy. Yet US foreign policy is doomed to failure – as is any course of action in Iraq – if it is not supported by a broad, sustained consensus. The aim of our report is to move our country toward such a consensus."
To see the report
A PDF version is available for download at these websites: www.usip.org, www.csis.org, and www.bakerinstitute.org. "The Iraq Study Group Report" ($10.95) is published by Vintage Books, www.vintagebooks.com.
