Iraq report picked apart — at home and abroad

WASHINGTON — The bipartisan Iraq Study Group's proposals for an urgent course change in Iraq were met with skepticism Thursday from President Bush, some U.S. senators, Iraqi leaders and Israel's government.

Such widespread reservations raised doubt that the group's approach will become a blueprint for U.S. policy.

While welcoming the group's effort, Bush appeared to reject anew its call for diplomatic outreach to Iran and Syria. He said he's awaiting his own review of Iraq strategy being conducted at the White House, Pentagon and State Department before ordering any changes.

Bush said he's planning to give a major speech outlining a new strategy for Iraq once the administration's reviews are complete.

Asked whether he's capable of changing course in Iraq, Bush replied: "I think you're going to have to pay attention to my speech coming up here when I get all the recommendations in, and you can answer that question yourself."

Bush's top national-security aides hope to complete the review by year's end, according to a senior State Department official. The official requested anonymity.

When pressed on whether he was in denial about the situation in Iraq, Bush said sharply, "It's bad in Iraq. That help?"

He added, "I thought we would succeed quicker than we did. And I am disappointed by the pace of success."

Bush made clear that he plans to pick and choose among the study group's 79 recommendations.

"Congress isn't going to accept every recommendation in the report and neither will the administration," he said at a White House news conference with British Prime Minister Tony Blair.

Hours earlier, the study group's co-chairmen, former Secretary of State James Baker and former Rep. Lee Hamilton, D-Ind., told a Senate committee the plan they released Wednesday must be implemented as a package — and urgently.

"I hope we don't treat this like a fruit salad, and say 'I like this but I don't like that,' " Baker pleaded before the Senate Armed Services Committee as it considered the findings of the report.

The 10-member group called for:

• Creating a major U.S. diplomatic initiative in the Middle East, including reviving an effort to broker Arab-Israeli peace.

• Transforming the U.S. military mission in Iraq from combat to primarily training Iraqi forces, so that most U.S. combat brigades could be removed by early 2008.

• Conditioning U.S. support on the Iraqi government's ability to meet milestones of progress on political reconciliation and security.

While some members of Congress reacted positively to the call for change just after the report was released, divisions were apparent Thursday about what changes should occur.

Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., disagreed strongly with the panel's call for a withdrawal of U.S. troops by early 2008, calling it "a recipe that will lead to our defeat."

Sens. Joe Lieberman, D-Conn.; Susan Collins, R-Maine; and Saxby Chambliss, R-Ga., questioned the commission's proposal that the administration approach Iran in search of help in stabilizing Iraq.

Rep. John Murtha, D-Pa., complained that the panel didn't call for a rapid withdrawal of U.S. troops.

Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., who is scheduled to take over the committee chairman's seat when Democrats ascend to the Senate majority next month, was the most supportive.

"I hope the administration will accept the recommendations in this report and will determine a changed course is the best hope of turning around this 'grave and deteriorating situation,' in the words of the report," Levin said.

Diverging views

In Baghdad, aides to anti-U.S. cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, a Shiite power, said he'd refuse to negotiate with Americans.

In Israel, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert rejected the group's suggestion that peace in Iraq requires a Palestinian state. Nabil Amr, a top adviser to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, described the report as "excellent."

Baker was the secretary of State under President George H.W. Bush, during which time he pushed for a peace deal with the Palestinians. Zalman Shoval, Israel's ambassador to the United States at the time, said negotiations now would amount to a "diversion."

At their news conference, Bush and Blair repeated their desire for Middle East peace and a two-state solution that involves a Palestinian state at peace with Israel. But Bush gave no hint that he would change his approach or undertake the type of aggressive U.S. mediation mission the study group envisions.

While Bush and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice have rejected one-on-one U.S. talks with Iran and Syria without preconditions, they haven't ruled out expanding an existing international group, the Compact for Iraq, to include the two countries. Nations involved in the compact are expected to meet in January or February.

"If people come to the table to discuss Iraq, they need to come understanding their responsibilities to not fund terrorists, to help this young democracy survive, to help with the economics of the country," Bush said.

If Iran and Syria won't do that, "then they shouldn't bother to show up," Bush said.

Baker said Iran already has been helpful to the United States on Afghanistan and that Bush had authorized him to speak to Iran in preparing the report.

Kurdish criticism

In Baghdad, Sayed Riyadh al-Nouri, a top al-Sadr adviser based in Najaf, said the Iraq Study Group is more important in the United States than in Iraq.

"I don't think his eminence will approve or negotiate with the occupying forces," Nouri said, referring to al-Sadr.

Iraq's Kurds were incensed that the report suggested giving the Iraqi central government control over all oil revenue, blocking a key desire of the Kurds in their region. The report also recommended delaying beyond next year a referendum in Kirkuk on whether the oil-rich northern city should join Iraq's Kurdistan region, a move that would strengthen Kurdish autonomy.

"It's very negative," said Mahmoud Othman, an influential Kurdish legislator. "I never thought such a negative thing would come out from U.S. consensus. Kurds have been friendly for Americans. Why we should be rewarded like that?"

Alaa Maki, a prominent Sunni lawmaker, said the report showed very little understanding of the complexities of Iraq's political climate. "We wanted much more support from the American side," Maki said.

For instance, he said, any withdrawal of U.S. combat troops should be linked with the Iraqi army's ability to have adequate representation from all of Iraq's religious groups. Currently, the army is Shiite-dominated.

"There's this anxiety," Maki said. "We want more support and concentration on balancing the Iraqi people's composition in the army and the police. This is an issue Americans don't pay enough attention to. That's why we speak loudly about our marginalization."

Additional information from The Washington Post, The Associated Press, Chicago Tribune, Newsday, Los Angeles Times and The Christian Science Monitor is included in this report.