Iraq Study Group to Bush: Get Off Your Ass

To my mind, the Baker report could have been a lot harder on Bush but it's no whitewash. In polite language, the Iraq Study Group makes it clear that Bush's policies in Iraq are failing. The report repeatedly makes the point that Bush needs to talk to people he has repeatedly said he doesn't want to talk to. Sorry, the report says, but we're talking minimal reality here and the president falls short. Bush and his mouthpiece Tony Snow are already trying to spin the report but it should be remembered the report is unanimous and bipartisan and cannot be easily ignored. Every professional in our government will be reading that report. For the next two years, Bush may do a lot of kicking and screaming but things will be changing.

I've only read the executive summary and some news accounts of the main report but it's clear that Bush is going to have to beef up the State Department and get some special envoys to help out Condi Rice. It wouldn't hurt to fire Hadley and get a decently competent national security adviser. Bush's radical agenda is dead. One last point: the report doesn't make a lot of noise about it but it suggests it may take five years to repair our foreign policy and our military—they're saying what many have known for some time but it's still big news.

Here's a link to the report. War and Piece has a link to the executive summary which makes clear Bush's policies must change.