Wednesday, December 06, 2006
Bush gives no guarantee on following up ISG report
A top US panel urged President George W. Bush to act to halt a "grave and deteriorating" crisis in Iraq by holding talks with Iran and Syria and starting to withdraw US combat forces. As violence in Iraq left dozens more dead, Bush said he would take the report by the Iraq Study Group "very seriously" but gave no guarantees he would follow any of the 79 recommendations.
"The situation in Iraq is grave and deteriorating," warned the report, "The Way Forward", written by a panel of five Republicans and five Democrats. "There is no magic formula to solve the problems of Iraq." It said if Iraq continues get worse, its government could collapse and ignite a "humanitarian catastrophe" prompting neighboring countries to intervene and hand a propaganda victory to Al-Qaeda.
The panel called on the Bush administration to launch an "immediate" diplomatic offensive to help end the sectarian strife that has left tens of thousands dead in Iraq since the US-led invasion in March 2003. It said there should be "exhaustive and substantive" talks with Iran and Syria, arch-foes which the US administration has accused of destabilizing the Middle East.
The group also called on Bush to launch a major effort to broker peace between Israel and the Palestinians. The Iraq Study Group proposed a major drawdown of US troops in Iraq. "By the first quarter of 2008, subject to unexpected developments in the security situation on the ground, all combat brigades not necessary for force protection could be out of Iraq." A US rapid reaction force could be retained and US forces would remain embedded with Iraqi units.
"The situation in Iraq is grave and deteriorating," warned the report, "The Way Forward", written by a panel of five Republicans and five Democrats. "There is no magic formula to solve the problems of Iraq." It said if Iraq continues get worse, its government could collapse and ignite a "humanitarian catastrophe" prompting neighboring countries to intervene and hand a propaganda victory to Al-Qaeda.
The panel called on the Bush administration to launch an "immediate" diplomatic offensive to help end the sectarian strife that has left tens of thousands dead in Iraq since the US-led invasion in March 2003. It said there should be "exhaustive and substantive" talks with Iran and Syria, arch-foes which the US administration has accused of destabilizing the Middle East.
The group also called on Bush to launch a major effort to broker peace between Israel and the Palestinians. The Iraq Study Group proposed a major drawdown of US troops in Iraq. "By the first quarter of 2008, subject to unexpected developments in the security situation on the ground, all combat brigades not necessary for force protection could be out of Iraq." A US rapid reaction force could be retained and US forces would remain embedded with Iraqi units.
The White House pointed out however the report did not include a detailed timetable for a retreat. The report said the United States must step up action -- including the threatened reduction of political, military and economic support -- to make the Iraqi government improve security. "To give the Iraqi government a chance to succeed, United States policy must be focused more broadly than on military strategy alone or on Iraq alone," Baker said, calling on US officials to seek the "active and constructive engagement of all governments that have an interest in avoiding chaos in Iraq -- including all of Iraq's neighhors." Bush said: "This report gives a very tough assessment of the situation in Iraq. It is a report that brings some really very interesting proposals, and we will take every proposal seriously, and we will act in a timely fashion."
Bush's top war ally, British Prime Minister Tony Blair, was to arrive in Washington later Wednesday for White House talks.
Bush's top war ally, British Prime Minister Tony Blair, was to arrive in Washington later Wednesday for White House talks.
There was no immediate official reaction to the Iraq report from the Baghdad government. But lawmakers spoke out against any threatened reduction in support. Bassim Ridha, a top advisor to Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, said the White House has to support Baghdad "all the way. If they do not support the government then it will look as if they do not do what they preach," Ridha said. Haidar al-Ibadi, a member of Maliki's Dawa party and close associate to the prime minister, said "we were told there would not be pressure as such. "In our dialogue with the US administration, we said that we would work together."
But the Palestinian authority welcomed the report's recommendation for efforts to revive the Middle East peace process. Nabil Abu Rudeina, a spokesman for Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas, told AFP: "This report analyzed things well. Resolving the Palestinian problem will open the way toward resolving all of the problems in the Middle East," he said. "All solutions must begin in Palestine."
But the Palestinian authority welcomed the report's recommendation for efforts to revive the Middle East peace process. Nabil Abu Rudeina, a spokesman for Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas, told AFP: "This report analyzed things well. Resolving the Palestinian problem will open the way toward resolving all of the problems in the Middle East," he said. "All solutions must begin in Palestine."
The full report can be found here: http://www.usip.org/isg/iraq_study_group_report/report/1206/index.html
