linked - Institut kurde de Paris

Revue de Presse-Press Review-Berhevoka Çapê-Rivista Stampa-Dentro de la Prensa-Basm Ozeti
While the panel was careful to modulate
its' wording to avoid phrases and
rigid timelines that would, in the words
of one member "set off the president,"
!t also clearly attempted to box him in,
presenting its recommendations as a
comprehensive strategy that would
only work if implemented in full. That
appeared to be a warning to Bush, who
in recent days has said he would consider
the independent panel's findings
alongside studies by the Joint Chiefs of
Staff and the National Security Council,
suggesting he would pick the best
elements of each of them.
It also abandoned the definition of
"victory in Iraq" that Bush laid out as
his own strategy a year ago, walking
away, for example, from any short- or
medium-term goal of turning Iraq into
a democracy.
"We want to stay current," Hamilton
said briskly when asked about that decision,
and Baker defended the decision
to ignore Bush's past statements
and embrace his latest formulation of
the mission in Iraq: to create a country
that can defend itself, govern itself and
sustain itself.
"That was the latest elaboration
the goal," Baker said, "and that's the one
we're working with."
Their findings left Washington buzzing
with speculation over whether Bush,
who on Wednesday morning thanked
the members for their work and, in a
private meeting, did nothing to push
back against their findings, would decide
on a huge reversaI in policy. To do
so would mark an admission that three
and a half years of strategy had failed,
and that Bush's repéated assurances to
the American people that "absolutely,
we're winning" were based more on optimism
than realism.
of
His national security adviser, Stephen
Hadley, has said that the president
would announce a major change of
course in "weeks, not months," but given
no hint how extensive it would be.
Democrats largely embraced the report.
Senator Harry Reid of Nevada, the
Democratie leader, said the group had
done "a tremendous and historie serviee"
by saying "there must be a change
in Iraq, and there is no time to lose."
But other Democrats were clearly disappointed
that the commission did not
embrace rapid withdrawal, as Representative
John Murtha called for a year ago,
or partition of the country, as Senator
Joseph Biden, the Delaware Democrat
soon to head the Senate Foreign Relations
Committee, has said is necessary.
Bush can easily embrace some of the
findings, including a caU for a five-fold
increase in imbedded Ameriean trainers
in the lraqi forces, whieh the panel
said should happen down to the level of
companies of Iraqi military. The committee
rejected a more striet timeline
for withdrawal advocated by William
Perry, the defense secretary under
President Bill Clinton, though Perry
convinced the commission to set clear
goals for the withdrawal of troops.
The commission had blistering critiques
of current policy. It said that intelligen~e
agencies had far too few people
workmg on the causes of insutgency. It
Il;0tedtha~the total cost of the Iraq inva-
SIonand ItS aftermath could be "as high
as $2 trillion," or 20 times higher than
sorne administration estimates in 2003.
.The report painted a particularly dire
plcture of prospects in Iraq if matters
continue to deteriorate.
"A slide toward chaos could trigger
the col1apse of Iraq's government and a
humanitarian catastrophe," the report
said in its executive summary. "Neighboring
countries could intervene.
Sunni-Shia clashes could spread. Al
Q;leda could win a propaganda victory
and expand its base of operations. The
global standing of the United States
could be diminished. Amerieans could
become more polarized."
The co-chairmen write that "there is
no magie formula to solve the problems
ofIraq."
Yet, the panel also found that "aU options
have not been exhausted."
It held out hope that if its recommendations
were implemented effectively
and the Iraqi government moved toward
national reconciliation, "Iraqis will have
an opportunity for a better future, terrorism
will be dealt a blow, stability will
be enhanced in an important part of the
world, and America's credibility, interests
and values will be protected."
While urging contacts with Iran and
Syria, the commission was not overly
sanguine about how easy this would be.
"Iran appears content for the U.S.
military to be tied down in Iraq," it said,
noting that this position limited U.S.
leverage.
The report quotes an Iraqi officiaI as
saying, "Iran is negotiating with the
United States in the streets of Baghdad."
While Syria had given hints of being
more helpful - indicating a readiness
for dialogue with the United States and
restoring diplomatie ties to Iraq last
month - its approach to date in Iraq
had largely been to "countenance malign
neglect," doing little to patrol its
border with Iraq.
"Miracles cannot be expected," the
review said, "but the people ofIraq have
the right to expect action and progress."
The goal: Building a new consensus
onaway
forward
Dy Brian Knowlton and David Stout
urry Downlnc/Reulen
George W; Bush at the White Bouse on Wednesday with the co-chairmen of the panel,
Lee Hamilton, left, and James Baker 3rd.
WASHINGTON: The bipartisan report
on Iraq received a largely warm reception
Wednesday as a serious effort
not just to .find better approaches in
Iraq but to do so while seeking to forge a
pragmatie consensus here around one
of the toughest foreign policy challenges
of the time.
"1wish we had this kind of report in
the Vietnam War," said David Gergen, a
no-nonsense former White House adviser
in both Republican and Democratie
administrations, "because if it had
come early enough we might have
spared a lot oflives." He spoke on CNN.
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