Hart, Galbraith, and Grossman comment on the ISG report

Dec 8, 2006

Dear Friend,

“Among the many inevitable outcomes of the unnecessary invasion of Iraq was the appointment of a commission of worthies assigned to work out how we get the hornets back in the nest we had kicked open,” writes former Senator Gary Hart, now Chairman of Council for a Livable World.

“This was roughly the assignment of the Iraq Study Group (a.k.a. the Baker-Hamilton Commission) and they have done a reasonable job of trying to restore realism, as well as reason, to an Administration priding itself on pre-Enlightenment divine guidance,” continues Hart. “Whether President Bush is now up to accepting reality, especially a very bitter reality he has created, remains in question.”

Experts agree that while the ISG report is a step in the right direction, it is largely too little, too late.

“’DEAD ON ARRIVAL’ seems the likely verdict on the much-awaited Report of the Iraq Study Group,” wri tes Peter Galbraith, Senior Diplomatic Fellow of the affiliated Center for Arms Control and Non-proliferation.

“Iraq has broken up and is in the midst of a civil war, but this is never acknowledged in the report,” Galbraith continues. “The panel seems to assume that nation building is still possible in Iraq, and this underlies its recommendations. The result is a report that, on the most essential points, is pie in the sky.”

Galbraith has serious reservations about several parts of the report and questions whether its recommendations are achievable. “As to the recommendation that US combat forces be withdrawn, this is a step in the right direction since US troops are doing little today to contain Iraq's civil war or put the country back together. President Bush, however, has signaled he will not accept this proposal, and the newly Democratic Congress lacks the will and the votes to force a withdrawal.”

“The Baker-Hamilton Report confirms the weakened political position of President Bush and his policy on Iraq,” states Jerome Grossman, Chairman Emeritus of Council for a Livable World.

“However,” Grossman continues, “it also undercut those who advocate immediate withdrawal of U.S. troops, as well as Senators Carl Levin and Jack Reed, who advocate beginning troop withdrawal within four to six months, and Rep. Jack Murtha, who advocates withdrawal as quickly as possible to nearby countries.”

“The ISG report, and others to follow, will do little to change the mind of a man who still thinks he was placed on earth for the evil hour of 9/11, who believes America is an Avenging Angel whose 21st century mission is to eradicate evil from the earth, and who, as Captain Ahab, willingly suspends the verities of the U.S. Constitution in the pursuit of his own White Whale,” says Hart.

As Grossman poignantly concludes, “U.S. policy in Iraq is a failure, conceived in fraud and misrepresentation and executed in violation of international law. The occupation must be ended immediately, all troops brought home, so that our country can begin to rebuild its policies and reputation.”

Sincerely,

John Isaacs and Guy Stevens

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