A bipartisan, independent panel studying the war in Iraq presented its findings this morning to President Bush, who said he would take their ideas “very seriously” and act on them “in a timely fashion.”
Mr. Bush called the group’s report “a very tough assessment of the situation in Iraq.”
He did not commit himself to adopting any of its recommendations, which he called “very interesting.” But urged Republicans as well as the Democrats who will soon take control of Congress to take the report as “an opportunity to find common ground.”
“While they won’t agree with every proposal — and we probably won’t agree with every proposal — it, nevertheless, is an opportunity to come together and work together on this important issue,” he said.
The conclusions of the panel, the Iraq Study Group, have been leaked in extensive detail over the last week. After its meeting with Mr. Bush, the 10-member group headed to Capitol Hill, where it will hold separate briefings with the House and Senate leaderships before publicly releasing its findings.
According to members of the panel, the group concluded that American forces in Iraq should make a major shift in priorities over the next year, largely withdrawing from combat in favor of beefing up the training of Iraq forces. It also called for stepped-up diplomatic efforts — including talks with Iran and Syria — not only to stabilize Iraq but to revive the peace process between Israel and the Palestinians, news services reported.
According to The Associated Press, the report describes the current situation in Iraq as “grave and deteriorating” and warns of the risk of a “slide toward catastrophe” both within Iraq and throughout the region.
The Washington Post reported today that the group recommends that Mr. Bush threaten to withhold economic and military support unless the Iraqi government led by Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki meets specific milestones for progress on security and political reconciliation.
As word of the likely recommendations leaked out in recent days, Mr. Bush moved to distance himself on some points, while emphasizing that his administration is already pursuing others, like handing responsibility for security to the Iraqi army next summer. The president has also requested a review of policy options from the Pentagon, and has made clear that he will regard the Study Group’s report as one input among many.
In particular, Mr. Bush has been adamant that he will not agree to a timetable for withdrawal and has dismissed the idea of a “graceful exit.” He has also said repeatedly that he will not talk with Iran until the standoff with the United Nations over its nuclear program is resolved.
Robert M. Gates, Mr. Bush’s choice to replace Donald H. Rumsfeld as secretary of defense, told the Senate Armed Services Committee on Tuesday that the commission’s report would be important, but not “the last word.”
Still, tremendous attention has focused on the group’s work, as members of both parties in Washington have come to the conclusion that a significant change in course on Iraq is needed. The prospect of the bipartisan report has also allowed Democrats, whose sweeping victories in the midterm elections have been attributed in large part to the public’s unhappiness over Iraq, to take a cautious tone on Iraq, with many saying they were waiting for the panel’s findings before pushing for changes.
The panel was co-chaired by former Secretary of State James A. Baker III, a Republican who has been close to the Bush family for decades, and former Representative Lee H. Hamilton, an Indiana Democrat.
Senator John F. Kerry, a Massachusetts Democrat who called earlier this year for a firm timetable for withdrawing American forces in Iraq, said in a televised interview this morning that he thought the group’s recommendations amounted to a timetable in everything but name.
“I think they’re about as close as you can come without getting into a direct confrontation with the president,” he said on CNN.
He said that he hoped Mr. Bush will “embrace” the findings.
Senator Susan M. Collins, a Maine Republican, said on CNN that “it is clear that the current strategy in Iraq has failed and we need a new approach.”
She said that she did not think Mr. Bush “is going to be a rubber stamp for the commission recommendations.”
“But all of us expect and hope that the president and his advisers will look very carefully at what the commission recommends,” she said.
According to The A.P., the report says that “violence is increasing in scope and lethality,” an assessment borne out by recent killings in Baghdad. Reuters reported that 10 people were killed today in a mortar attack in the city’s center and three people died in Sadr City, a large Shiite neighborhood, when a suicide bomber blew himself up on a bus.
The political tensions at the heart of the deteriorating security situation in Iraq were on display today, as members of a political party linked to Moqtada al-Sadr, an anti-American Shiite cleric, made good on their threat to boycott Parliament in response to Mr. Maliki’s meeting with Mr. Bush in Jordan last week. The absence of the party’s 30 members deprived Parliament of a quorum, The A.P. reported.
On Tuesday, the two top Sunni members of the government of national unity led by Mr. Maliki, a Shiite, gave a scathing assessment of the country’s plight.
Mahmoud al-Mashhadani, the speaker of Parliament, said that “there is a vacuum of authority resulting from the government’s weakness,” The A.P. reported.
“Our real problem lies in the fact that we failed to create a strong state and a united government,” he said.
Vice President Tariq al-Hashemi, who is to visit the White House next month, described the current situation as “a huge calamity.”
“All this suffering has placed Iraq way beyond what happened in Lebanon’s civil war,” he said.
Also today, the American military announced the death of a soldier in Anbar province on Monday, bringing that day’s death toll among service members to four.