Iraq Study Group Roundup

[Updated Below...Updated Again]

The AP has a nice summary about the Iraq Study Group’s findings and all the hoopla around them..

It recommended the U.S. reduce political, military or economic support for Iraq if the government in Baghdad cannot make substantial progress toward providing for its own security.

I was never down with the immediate troop withdrawal idea in the beginning, but I always warned that we needed to find a way to make the Iraqis step up, a way to show them that this is their country now, as well as their responsibility. Apparently no one could find a way to accomplish this, leaving us with only this hardnosed option.

The truth of the matter is that the Iraq government needs to take control, and apparently this is the only way to achieve this. What’s the only eother option? Sit in Iraq for decades while their government works it out? Yeah right.

"If the president is serious about the need for change in Iraq, he will find Democrats ready to work with him in a bipartisan fashion to find a way to end the war as quickly as possible," said Rep. Nancy Pelosi (news, bio, voting record), the California Democrat who is in line to become House speaker when the new Congress convenes in January.

Thank you for acting like a real leader, Pelosi. Seriously, score one for our side… or something - you know it works somewhat like that in almost everyone’s head, don’t lie - .

In a slap at the Pentagon, the commission said there is significant underreporting of the actual level of violence in the country. It also faulted the U.S. intelligence effort, saying the government "still does not understand very well either the insurgency in Iraq or the role of the militias."

(emphasis mine)

Take that Michelle Malkin! You little liberal conspiracy believer, you.


Update1 5:38 PM EST

The Truth Laid Bear has the report in html. Check it out if you want to know more about what is inside.

Update2 9:28 PM EST

The Times has published a piece basically quoting some prominent Democrats on their reaction to the Iraq Study Group’s report.

Basically, it seems that most in the party are going to shy away from an immediate withdrawal proposal, which will anger some, though I have yet to decide if it is a good move.

There’s a part of me that thinks all hope is lost in Iraq, and that no matter what we do, we will lose. Part of me thinks that we should pull all our troops out, because simply, we have no business being there, our citizens have no business dieing there. Then there’s the other part of me that wants to give this new Congress a chance to work with the president and come up with a plan that will allow the Iraqi government to stand on its own. But, if we allow Congress to work with Bush and hammer something out, how long do we wait before we come to the conclusion that it’s time to pull the troops?




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