With the recent release of the new Iraq Study Group report (PDF), I've learned one thing:
It's Still Going
While I applaud the bi-partisan efforts of of the ISG to come to an understanding on a possible solution to the war in Iraq, all of this is too late. Over 2,000 American soldiers have lost their lives, the region is beyond the point of stabilization, and the current Iraqi government can collapse like a house of cards with one move from Al Sadr.
We created the vacuum, we failed to secure the country when we first invaded. In our rush into Baghdad we forgot everything that the first Gulf War taught us. The overwhelming force lead by Scharkopf and Powell sent the Iraqi's packing, and this was under Bush I. Now under Bush II we have a heavy fortified Green Zone (which acts like a huge painted target for every terrorist group out there), a region suffering from religious strife, and Bremer's attempt to rebuild the country just lead to questions on where the funding went.
The very first line in the Executive Summery states: "The situation in Iraq is grave and deteriorating." That's not a very good way to start a report on a war that President Bush stated with a banner, was at one time "Mission Accomplished." President Bush constantly claims that Al Queda is fueling the war in Iraq (may or may not be true), but the report states three additional factors: A Sunni Insurgency, an increasing criminal element, and Shiite Militias and Death Squads. Determining the percentage of fault for each of the four factors is like determining who is at fault for a forty-car pile up, one car hits another and the rest is a chain reaction.
ISG called for the White House to launch a Diplomatic Offensive, to get regional partners involved in rebuilding Iraq. As one news-channel was quoted as saying "That idea was shot down before lunch." White House Spokesman Tony Snow ruled out the approach with Iran due to their nuclear enrichment activities. Snow even got in a bout of verbal judo with NBC's David Gregory over the report's recommendation for "national unity" on the issue of Iraq. Let's just say from my perspective it shows the White House didn't get past the six-page executive summery.
Russ Feingold describes the report as misguided. The issue with terrorism is it's not a regional war (i.e. Iraq) it's a global war. The report still focuses on Iraq as being critical to national security, when it does nothing of the sort. Instead it has given terrorist groups time to study our tactics and methods. And what is to say that the newly trained Iraqi Army units have not been infiltrated themselves by Sunni or Shiite loyalist, or even Al Queda members.
On the day that the report was released to the public we lost an additional ten solders and additional scores of Iraqi civilians lost their lives to an ever increasing regional conflict. Feingold made a very good point, we lost our way. It's Still Going on and the Report does nothing to stop this conflict, to stop the increasing threat of terrorism on our shores, and it does nothing to end the war. This report will probably get filed away with the 9/11 report until Bush leaves office. It will take the Democratic Controlled Congress to take the first steps and pass bills implementing the ISG Report and finally enacting the 9/11 Commission's recommendations to make sure we can secure our peace and freedom here at home by insuring our security globally.
