THE IRAQ Study Group’s report is very important. And completely irrelevant.
It’s important because it publicly faces some harsh truths about Iraq and looks for a way out. It neither throws in the towel nor throws down the gauntlet. It suggests ways to possibly pull U.S. troops out of the country by 2008 while working with regional powers to stabilize not only Iraq, but also relations between the Arab world and Israel.
And none of it matters.
Harsh? Yes. But also true. At the end of the day, all the same players are still holding all the same positions as they did before the report’s release.
President Bush still won’t hear of troop withdrawals and has set stringent conditions on any talks with Syria and Iran.
Iran still won’t give up its nuclear enrichment program, one of the chief stumbling blocks toward any negotiations.
The Democrats in Congress are still criticizing the president’s approach as loudly as before and conservative Republicans are still criticizing defeatists as loudly as before. Both sides now have the report for added ammunition.
And yes, American troops are still struggling to build and support a country under conditions that grow more difficult by the day.
But rather than find a new road that might help those soldiers, Washington seems mostly interested in replowing old ground.
Nobody ever said the study group’s proposals had to be adopted. It was intended to be a starting point, something to move the debate forward. But for all the difference it seems likely to make, the 10 members of the study group might as well have sat back and played poker.
Something needs to change. That, everyone recognizes. But we need to start discussing those changes, and soon, before events force change upon us.
The next move now belongs to the president. He’s promised to unveil a new approach of his own to the war soon. If that happens, if President Bush really does move in a direction other than “stay the course,” then maybe the national conversation on Iraq really has moved forward and the study group hasn’t been for nothing.
Let’s hope so. At this juncture, it would be criminal to waste any more time or opportunities. Both may well be running out.
Scott Rochat
Senior Reporter