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Friday, October 13, 2006

Just a guess: we wouldn't see the final report before the election

This is just a guess, I'm pretty sure we wouldn't have seen James Baker's final report before the election, anyway:

A commission formed to assess the Iraq war and recommend a new course has ruled out the prospect of victory for America, according to draft policy options shared with The New York Sun by commission officials.
Currently, the 10-member commission — headed by a secretary of state for President George H.W. Bush, James Baker — is considering two option papers, "Stability First" and "Redeploy and Contain," both of which rule out any prospect of making Iraq a stable democracy in the near term.
More telling, however, is the ruling out of two options last month. One advocated minor fixes to the current war plan but kept intact the long-term vision of democracy in Iraq with regular elections. The second proposed that coalition forces focus their attacks only on Al Qaeda and not the wider insurgency.
...Because of the politically explosive topic of the Baker commission, the panel has agreed not to release its findings until after the November 7 elections. The commission, formally known as the Iraq Study Group, was created by Congress in legislation sponsored by Rep. Frank Wolf, a Republican of Virginia and close confidant of Mr. Bush's. Mr. Baker has said he will likely present the panel's findings in December.

Now, look -- there are two big points to make here. One, the election November 7 could go a long way toward defining our policy in Iraq. People can vote for keep-to-the-wrong-path Republicans or let's-put-some-thought-into-this Democrats. So if Mr. Baker is serious about serving the country, he should insist that his report be made available in advance of the elections.

Second (and this has been true since the first Friedman 2 1/2 years ago), we're at a critical time in Iraq:

They also shed light on what is at stake in the coming 2 1/2 months for the Iraqi government. The "Redeploy and Contain" option calls for the phased withdrawal of American soldiers from Iraq, though the working groups have yet to say when and where those troops will go. The document, read over the telephone to the Sun, says America should "make clear to allies and others that U.S. redeployment does not reduce determination to attack terrorists wherever they are." It also says America's top priority should be minimizing American casualties in Iraq.
Both Mr. Baker and his Democratic co-commissioner, Lee Hamilton, have said for nearly a month that the coming weeks and months are crucial for the elected body in Baghdad. More recently, Mr. Baker has said he is leaning against counseling the president to withdraw from Iraq.

If the next couple of months truly are 'crucial' to the Iraqi government, why the hell would we wait for a month before looking at the group's strategies? Jesus! If Baker thinks we're at a critical stage in this debacle, let's get started this afternoon on improving our policy. Let's not sit on our hands for another month before thinking about whether any other policy would be better than the one we have.