White House Advised to Follow Iraq Panel's Recommendations
by Jim Brown
December 8, 2006
(AgapePress) - - The Iraq study group headed up by former Secretary of State James Baker and former Indiana Congressman Lee Hamilton has released its much anticipated report, "The Way Forward." One top defense analyst says there should be broad bipartisan support for the report's recommendations.Among other things, the report calls on the U.S. to "engage directly" with the rogue regimes of Iran and Syria in hopes of bringing stability to Iraq. The report also advocates a significant increase in U.S. troops embedded with Iraqi forces, but a pullback of American troops by early 2008. At the same time, the report calls the situation in Iraq "grave and deteriorating." More controversial elements of the report include giving amnesty to Iraqi insurgents and returning the Golan Heights to Syria in return for cooperation from the Assad dictatorship.
James Carafano, senior fellow for defense and homeland security at the Heritage Foundation, says the report overall reflects a "practical, honest" assessment of the conditions in Iraq and the steps that can be taken to move forward. By and large, he feels most of the recommendations are "pretty commendable" and are actually consistent with many of the things the administration already wants to do.
"One issue that I would take up with them is their diplomatic proposals, in terms of engaging Syria and Iran," he says. "I don't think that would be productive at all." But other than that, he feels that many of the recommendations are sound and represent something that "all of Americans should really be able to get behind."
The Heritage Foundation fellow believes there can be no productive engagement with Iran and Syria because they have been meddling in Iraq, and violence in the country seems to be in their best interests. In addition, Carafano contends there is no U.S. military solution to the violence in Iraq and the future of Iraq. "That really has to come from the Iraqis," he asserts. "The single most important thing we can do is help to stand up and train and support the Iraqi Security Forces.
"So deploying additional advisors, providing support to the military, reforming how we do the police -- doing a much better job [with the] police -- that is absolutely the right thing to do, pushing the Iraqis to take more responsibility for running the country," he says. The shortest way out of Iraq, he adds, is to have the Iraqis stand up and take responsibility for their own future.
Meanwhile, a Republican senator is urging the Bush administration to use the Baker-Hamilton Commission's report as a blueprint for U.S. strategy in Iraq. Senator Judd Gregg of New Hampshire says the report is "an important step forward" in U.S. efforts to resolve what he calls "the morass that's become Iraq."
"There's no question but that we have to figure out a way to extricate ourselves from Iraq in a reasonable way that doesn't undermine our commitment to trying to make that country independent, free and oriented towards a market economy," the senator offers. Gregg says in order for that to be accomplished, the Iraqi people need to take more responsibility for their security and government.
Gregg, who serves on the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense, says the U.S. must find a way to extricate itself from the Middle Eastern country. He is convinced that adhering to the panel's recommendations is the best way to do that.
"This should be done, obviously, sooner rather than later, and certainly with the Baker Commission as an outline or a blueprint as to how we can proceed," says the New Hampshire lawmaker. "This is a positive step, and one which we should take seriously and follow."
President Bush has pledged to take the Baker-Hamilton Commission's recommendations "very seriously."
Jim Brown, a regular contributor to AgapePress, is a reporter for American Family Radio News, which can be heard online.
