Full Report:
http://download.npr.org/anon.npr-www/documents/2006/dec/isg_full.pdf

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Iraq Study Group: U.S. Policy 'Not Working'
A long-awaited report by the Iraq Study Group paints a bleak picture of
the situation in Iraq. The 10-member, bipartisan panel says the
situation in Iraq is "grave and deteriorating" and could provoke a slide
into chaos. The report, handed to President Bush and Congress Wednesday
morning, lays out 79 recommendations to try to pull Iraq back from the
brink.

The opening line sets a sober, grim tone: "There is no magic formula to
solve the problems of Iraq."

It describes those problems as enormous: Violence in Iraq, fed by an
insurgency, militias and crime, is increasing in scope and lethality.
The Iraqi military and security forces are ineffective and corrupt.
About 2,900 U.S. soldiers are dead so far, with another 21,000 wounded.
There's no sign the situation will change anytime soon.

The panel's co-chairman, James Baker, the Republican who once served as
a U.S. secretary of state, makes it clear the Bush administration's
handling of the war is not working.

"We do not recommend a 'stay the course' solution," Baker said
Wednesday. "In our opinion, that approach is no longer viable. "

In its report, the study group lays out three key recommendations.

First, the United States must help Iraqis take responsibility for their
own destiny.

Former Rep. Lee Hamilton, the Democrat from Indiana who serves as the
other co-chairman of the group, says that the Bush administration must
send a strong message to Iraqi leaders to make substantial progress on
national reconciliation, security and improving daily lives of Iraqis.

"If the Iraqi government does not make substantial progress toward the
achievement of milestones, the United States then should reduce its
political, military or economic support for the Iraqi government,"
Hamilton said.

A second recommendation calls for a renewed, immediate push by the
United States on the diplomatic front, including reviving Arab-Israeli
peace talks and opening a dialogue with Iran and Syria.

The Bush administration has steadfastly refused to enter into talks with
either country. Hamilton says both countries have enormous influence in
the region and a lot of impact in Iraq.

"We will be criticized, I'm sure, for talking with our adversaries,"
Hamilton said. "But I do not see how you solve these problems without
talking to them."

Hamilton and Baker are skeptical that Iran will come to the negotiating
table. Baker holds out more hope for dealing with Syria's leaders.

"They could... be in a position to help us and might want to help us,"
he said. "But we're specific in the report. There must be 10 or 11 or 12
things... that we will be asking of Syria... We're talking about tough
diplomacy."

And the study group also recommends that the United States make a
fundamental change in its military operations by gradually shifting its
troops from combat missions to training and advising the Iraqi army.

The commission suggests a five-fold increase in the number of U.S.
troops embedded to train Iraqis. That would mean 20,000 U.S. trainers
instead of the current 4,000. If all goes well, the report suggests,
combat troops could begin leaving Iraq in early 2008.

Study group member Charles Robb -- the Democrat who served Virginia as a
U.S. senator and governor -- says "embedding our forces at greater
levels in the Iraqi military" will create "more capacity, more trust,
more capability in the Iraqi forces."

Robb says a number of U.S. military officials agree that more trainers
are needed.

The Pentagon, State Department and the National Security Council are due
to release Iraq strategy reviews sometime in the next few weeks.
President Bush has said he will look at all options before making any
decision on Iraq.

Panel members on the Iraq Study Group said their plan didn't offer any
guarantees, but that it would certainly improve the chances for success
in Iraq.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=6588309

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Comment: Partition may solve the Kurd ancestral problem, but it wuld
make the rest of the country a bit at odd, especially in the big cities
where both Sunni and Chi'ites live in neighborhood, it would be like
dividing Jerusalem. But we know that one day it will be so, the narrower
mesopotamia, as the Seer said... Difficult to open the dialiog with
Syria and Iran who are the source of the terrorism in the region, one
thing is sure, the key to their problem would be to transfer all
settlements from Israel, that it keeps for its strict safety. There will
probably be a UN "safe haven" international zone around the water
reserves common to both countries to settle this, as it will be for
Jerusalem, but it will not likely work for Israel water wise I think
because of the very eloquent words from Nostradamus in 8,96 ("sterile,
sans nul fruit")... but that is another story.

J.