Iraq Study Group (ISG) issues a candid and sobering report.

The long awaited Iraq Study Group (ISG) has issued a candid and sobering 160 page report on Iraq. The report makes 79 recommendations for dealing with the "dire" situation in Iraq and "areas wider than it". I have only glanced at the report, but you can read it in its entirety by clicking on "report" above. The first thing in the report that jumps out at you is its preamble: "Many Americans are dissatisfied, not just with the situation in Iraq but with the state of our political debate regarding Iraq. Our political leaders must build a bipartisan approach to bring a responsible conclusion to what is now a lengthy and costly war. Our country deserves a debate that prizes substance over rhetoric, and a policy that is adequately funded and sustainable. The President and Congress must work together. Our leaders must be candid and forthright with the American people in order to win their support".
Amongst the many observations and recommendations of the group, that I quickly noticed and which were not already discussed in my previous post on the subject, are: 1) "We do not recommend a 'stay the course' solution. In our opinion, that approach is no longer viable"; 2) "The U. S. must focus on an area wider than Iraq and must push for U. S. - Arab peace, incl. direct talks b/w Syria and Israel. ... U. S. diplomatic efforts should include engaging all of Iraq's neighbors, incl. the United Nations"; 3) A Five fold increase in U. S. forces training Iraqis so that Bush's goal of an "Iraq that can govern itself, sustain itself and defend itself" can be met; 4) The U. S. should not pull out "precipitously" from Iraq since doing so will cause a "bloodbath"; but adding more combat troops or "splitting Iraq into [factions]" is not the answer. President Bush, while stating that "we probably won't agree with every proposal", nonetheless "promise[d] to take the recommendations ... which brings some really very interesting proposals ... very seriously ... and act on it in a timely matter".
I hope President Bush means what he says and says what he means with respect to this report. It is time to find a formula that works not just in Iraq but in the Middle East as a whole. And this report appears likely to hold the magic key to unlocking the Middle East mystery. The Senate must do its part to immediately confirm Robert Gtaes so that he can start to quickly implement these recommendations.