Happy Baker-Hamilton Day!
So today is the big day - the Baker Hamilton Report is out. (Full PDF of report, all 160 pages of it, here.)
Maybe today is the day it all starts to get better.
But don't bet on it.
I haven't had a chance to read the report yet (duh) but that won't stop me from having an opinion about the Iraq Study Group and what it could mean.
I never had that much faith in this whole Baker Hamilton thing because I figured it was a pre-election gimmick to make it look like they were actually trying to find solutions when in fact they planned to stay the goddamned course. I think what changed was the election, which gave the whole report a lot more gravity. Anti-war became the sentiment du jour.
Have you noticed that both Newsweek and Time have the same cover this week - headlines that say, "Will Bush Listen?" Now call me crazy, but how fucking insane is it that we have to worry that the president won't even listen? But it does bring up a good point, which is that no matter what Baker Hamilton says, it doesn't mean shit if the Chimp won't act on it.
From what I have gathered so far, the main recommendations are for strategic troop redeployment, increased training and benchmarking for Iraqi forces (including the key threat that we're going to leave whether or not they are ready), and dialogue/partnership with regional players. All of these things sound like pretty good ideas, but it seems pretty obvious that without the regional dialogue (which is just a nice way of saying that we should beg Iran and Syria to stop supporting militias in Iraq and start pushing for stability and security) the rest doesn't have much of a chance. Which is why it's heartening to hear that apparently the part of all this that Bush likes, and will probably act on, is more of this endless bs about "training Iraqi forces" and "standing down when they stand up" and that crap. But talking with the Iranians? Not a chance. Which sucks. But is also ironic, as this morning ont he news they were saying that the US is just not influential enough to have just talking to us be such a big treat anymore. Used to be that for just a chance at a seat at the table countries would get in line and make concessions. Now we've painted ourselves into a corner where it's obvious that we need them more than they need us. So just opening dialogue won't be enough, we'll actually have to offer them some incentives to help. So you know, once again, nice job W.
Maybe today is the day it all starts to get better.
But don't bet on it.
I haven't had a chance to read the report yet (duh) but that won't stop me from having an opinion about the Iraq Study Group and what it could mean.
I never had that much faith in this whole Baker Hamilton thing because I figured it was a pre-election gimmick to make it look like they were actually trying to find solutions when in fact they planned to stay the goddamned course. I think what changed was the election, which gave the whole report a lot more gravity. Anti-war became the sentiment du jour.
Have you noticed that both Newsweek and Time have the same cover this week - headlines that say, "Will Bush Listen?" Now call me crazy, but how fucking insane is it that we have to worry that the president won't even listen? But it does bring up a good point, which is that no matter what Baker Hamilton says, it doesn't mean shit if the Chimp won't act on it.
From what I have gathered so far, the main recommendations are for strategic troop redeployment, increased training and benchmarking for Iraqi forces (including the key threat that we're going to leave whether or not they are ready), and dialogue/partnership with regional players. All of these things sound like pretty good ideas, but it seems pretty obvious that without the regional dialogue (which is just a nice way of saying that we should beg Iran and Syria to stop supporting militias in Iraq and start pushing for stability and security) the rest doesn't have much of a chance. Which is why it's heartening to hear that apparently the part of all this that Bush likes, and will probably act on, is more of this endless bs about "training Iraqi forces" and "standing down when they stand up" and that crap. But talking with the Iranians? Not a chance. Which sucks. But is also ironic, as this morning ont he news they were saying that the US is just not influential enough to have just talking to us be such a big treat anymore. Used to be that for just a chance at a seat at the table countries would get in line and make concessions. Now we've painted ourselves into a corner where it's obvious that we need them more than they need us. So just opening dialogue won't be enough, we'll actually have to offer them some incentives to help. So you know, once again, nice job W.
posted by chiniqua at 12:58 PM
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