Report: Iraq Study Group Will Rule Out Victory In Iraq, Propose Redeployment

A 10-member bipartisan commission that is charged with assessing Bush’s Iraq strategy has reportedly “ruled out the prospect for victory.” The New York Sun reports:

A commission formed to assess the Iraq war and recommend a new course has ruled out the prospect of victory for America, according to draft policy options shared with The New York Sun by commission officials.

Currently, the 10-member commission — headed by former secretary of state for President George H.W. Bush, James Baker — is considering two option papers, “Stability First” and “Redeploy and Contain,” both of which rule out any prospect of making Iraq a stable democracy in the near term.

The commission was established at the instigation of Rep. Frank Wolf (R-VA), and was intended to “devise a fresh set of policies to help the president chart a new course.” Bush noted at his press conference this week that he “supported the idea” of the so-called Iraq Study Group and that he “looks forward to listening” to the commission’s recommendations. Among the leading options being considered by the task force is a redeployment plan:

The “Redeploy and Contain” option calls for the phased withdrawal of American soldiers from Iraq, though the working groups have yet to say when and where those troops will go.

Redeployment offers the last best chance for Iraq. The longer Bush refuses to accept that, the weaker the U.S.’s position unnecessarily becomes.

The Center for American Progress released its Iraq strategy — Strategic Redeployment — in September 2005. It called for the drawdown of troops over 2006 and 2007 to refocus their mission on the war against terrorist networks in the surrounding region. At the time the plan was first proposed, just over 1,900 members of the U.S. military had died in the war. Today, the count stands over 2,750.