The Baker Report: Could it be the thing to get us out of Iraq?
Recently, as I am sure you have seen in the news, the Baker Report has been released. The Baker Report is a comprehensive report that predicts what could happen in Iraq if we let the situation get worse, and then it proceeds to offer suggestions as to how we could ameliorate the situation that we have on our hands. For the most part, the Iraq Study Group which consists of Sandra Day O’Connor, Lawrence Eagleberger, Edwin Meese III, Alan K. Simpson, Vernon Jordan Jr., Leon E. Panetta, William J. Jerry, and Charles S. Robb, talked about calling for new and improved diplomatic and political efforts in Iraq and the middle east in general, and also finding a way that will allow the United States to gradually pull all troops out of Iraq.
This report was especially interesting to me because not only does it deal with the situation in Iraq, but it also sheds some light on the Israeli and Palestinian conflict going on in Israel right now, which directly effects the situation in Iraq. According to the New York Times, in a summary of the Baker Report,
The United States cannot achieve its goals in the Middle East unless it deals directly with the Arab-Israeli conflict and regional instability. There must be a renewed and sustained commitment by the United States to a comprehensive Arab Israeli peace on all fronts
I agree fully with this suggestion. I mean, this conflict has been going on for much longer than the Iraq war, this has lasted for years, even decades. Solving this conflict would be the key to fixing the situation in Iraq because if this conflict could be fixed, perhaps some of the anti-jewish and anti-american feelings that various extreme religious followers have could be wiped away, causing them to turn over a new leaf, making the situation in Iraq much more easy and pleasant to deal with.
Now, there are internal problems to be fixed within Iraq in addition to the problems I talked about above. One problem that the study group touched upon was that in a way we are “babying” the iraquis too much. We should sit back and let them set up their country for themselves. There is no need for us to stay in there, metaphorically holding their hands, while they establish a new government. The Iraquis should take control of themselves and realize that they are their own responsibilities, not ours. If the Iraquis really got involved, created more army batalions, they would have their own protection, and the United States could effectively pull out their troops from the middle east.
The baker report offeres good suggestions for what to do with the situation in iraq, which is obviously not getting any better at this point. George Bush should take some initiative to listen to what the Iraq Study Group has to say within the Baker Report, becuase it could really help improve the situation we have going on right now in Iraq.
