looking for a way out of Iraq
Los Angeles Times - October 16, 2006
Panel to Seek Change on Iraq
A commission backed by Bush has agreed that ’stay the course’ is not
working, its leader says. A phased withdrawal is one option on the
table.
By Doyle McManus, Times Staff Writer
WASHINGTON — A commission backed by President Bush that is exploring
U.S. options in Iraq intends to propose significant changes in the
administration’s strategy by early next year, members say.
Two options under consideration would represent reversals of U.S.
policy: withdrawing American troops in phases, and bringing
neighboring Iran and Syria into a joint effort to stop the fighting.
While it weighs alternatives, the 10-member commission headed by
former Secretary of State James A. Baker III has agreed on one
principle.
“It’s not going to be ’stay the course,’ ” one participant said. “The
bottom line is, [current U.S. policy] isn’t working…. There’s got to
be another way.”
If the panel recommends overhauling Bush’s approach to Iraq, it could
give a boost not only to critics of current policy but also to
officials in the administration who have argued for broad changes.
“There’ll probably be some things in our report that the
administration might not like,” Baker said in a television interview
last week.
It’s unclear how willing Bush is to change his strategy, which
focuses on improving security in Baghdad, training Iraqi security
forces and pressing the Iraqi government to forge a political
agreement among warring factions.
Progress on all those fronts has been slow, and Bush last week said
he was open to ideas.
“My attitude is: Don’t do what you’re doing if it’s not working —
change,” Bush said at a news conference.
When the panel was formed in March, some administration officials
hoped it would produce a bipartisan endorsement of existing policy.
But as sectarian violence in Iraq has worsened, more Republicans in
Congress — and privately some administration officials — have become
receptive to alternatives.
The Baker panel, called the Iraq Study Group, was formed in response
to a proposal by members of Congress. Nevertheless, Baker sought —
and won — Bush’s endorsement.
Other members include former Rep. Lee H. Hamilton (D-Ind.), who also
served as co-chairman of the commission investigating the Sept. 11
terrorist attacks; retired Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor;
former Rep. Leon E. Panetta, a California Democrat who was President
Clinton’s chief of staff; and former CIA Director Robert M. Gates.
In its most recent closed-door meetings, the commission focused on
two options drafted by experts outside the government.
One, titled “Stability First,” calls for continuing to try to
stabilize Baghdad, boosting efforts to entice insurgents into
politics, and bringing Iran and Syria into plans to end the fighting.
The other, called “Redeploy and Contain,” goes further. It calls for
a gradual, phased withdrawal of American troops to bases outside Iraq
where they would be available for strikes against terrorist
organizations anywhere in the region.
The experts also prepared an option called “Stay the Course, Redefine
the Mission,” and an alternative urging a quick U.S. withdrawal, but
the panel appeared less interested in those plans, participants said.
The options were first reported last week by the New York Sun.
Baker and other commission members refused to confirm the substance
of the options and emphasized that the panel had made no decisions.
But Baker signaled the thrust of the panel’s deliberations in several
television interviews last week.
“Our commission believes that there are alternatives between the
stated alternatives, the ones that are out there in the political
debate of ’stay the course’ and ‘cut and run,’ ” Baker said.
The former secretary of State, who was a longtime aide to former
President George H.W. Bush, also said he favored reaching out to Iran
and Syria.