Iraq Study Group Report

1. What is the Iraq Study Group Report?
2. Who produced it?
3. How does the Bush administration regard it?
4. What do Iraqis say about it?
5. What will happen to it?

The first two questions above have answers. The answers for the rest of the questions are subject to change. Over the next several days and weeks, I will attempt to present the features of the report and its recommendations, so that the reader can assess whether or not it should be used as a way for the U.S. to extricate itself from Iraq. I intend to comment on it as I proceed. For now, I have answers to the first two questions.

Question 1: The Iraq Study Group Report (ISGR)is a compendium of - in the words of the report itself - "actions that can be taken to improve the situation [read as 'problems of Iraq']and protect American interests". The report states that, "Our country deserves a deserves a debate that prizes substance over rhetoric, and a policy that is adequately funded and sustainable." The ISGR asks for candid, forthright leaders who can win the support of the American people. Although the ISGR doesn't directly chastise the President or his henchmen, you can sense that it is talking to them. It stresses a "bipartisan approach to bring a responsible conclusion to what is now a lengthy and costly war". ISGR provides an assessment and an approach to achieve our goals in Iraq, assuming there is some consensus as to what those goals are. You can read the full report, and download it, if you choose to, from here.

Question 2: The ISGR was sponsored by the The United States Institute of Peace, an independent, nonpartisan, national institution established and funded by Congress. From its Web page, "Its mission is to help: (1) Prevent and resolve violent international conflicts, (2) Promote post-conflict stability and democratic transformations, and (3) Increase peacebuilding capacity, tools, and intellectual capital worldwide. USIP does this by empowering others with knowledge, skills, and resources, as well as by its direct involvement in peacebuilding efforts around the globe."

"The United States Institute of Peace is an independent, nonpartisan, national institution established and funded by Congress. Its mission is to help: (1) Prevent and resolve violent international conflicts, (2) Promote post-conflict stability and democratic transformations, and (3) Increase peacebuilding capacity, tools, and intellectual capital worldwide. USIP does this by empowering others with knowledge, skills, and resources, as well as by its direct involvement in peacebuilding efforts around the globe." USIP, besides issuing reports like one calling for fundamnetal reforms of the United Nations, sponsors fellowships and makes grants, plus other efforts that are detailed on http://www.isip.org/.

More tomorrow, as we review Part I, Assessment.