Free Republic

A collapse of the Iraqi state would be catastrophic -- for the people of Iraq, for the Middle East and for America's strategic interests. We need a new political and military approach to head off this impending disaster -- one crafted with bipartisan congressional support. But Baker-Hamilton isn't it. Our objective should be a large-scale U.S. military withdrawal within the next 36 months, leaving in place an Iraqi government in a stable and mostly peaceful country that does not threaten its six neighboring states and does not intend to possess weapons of mass destruction. The courage and skill of the...

The critics are right about the flaws of the Baker Report, but  none of that really matters. The reason is that the Report's flapdoodle serves as cover for both Republicans and Democrats -- at least those who aren't yet kidnapped by Moveon.org. On the Left, it's a long-overdue wave of political sanity. Just think of the incredible corner the Dems have painted themselves into since 9/11: Effectively they are out there loudly calling for treason in time of war. What if another 9/11 happened? The Dems were playing their game far too close to the edge. To listen to the...

Forget the Executive Summary which is a collection of platitudes and wish-lists.  If the assumptions in the Executive Summary were true - for instance that Iraq's neighbors see themselves as having a stake in a stable and successful Iraq - the problem would have been solved long ago and our troops would be home. But ...the next section - "Assessment" - is an effective and hard-hitting summary of the situation in Iraq as of now.  And it isn't pretty.  Having read Dr. Richard Feynman's  droll narrative of the writing of the Challenger disaster report back in the 1980's (Dr. Feynman...