From Deseret News archives:
Iraq braces for U.S. shift in war
Bush to meet with group studying war strategies
After Tuesday's overwhelming Democratic election victory and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld's abrupt resignation, Iraq's parliamentarians and political operatives believe that the U.S. approach to their war-torn country is about to undergo a major overhaul.
But the view from Baghdad is that many of the proposals floating around Washington-such as a phased withdrawal of U.S. troops, using U.S. forces only in emergencies from outside the country, or persuading Iran and Syria to get more involved are fraught with problems, none assuring a certain and quick solution.
"It is probably a good thing for Iraq that there has been this big change in Washington, because it will force the Bush administration to consider new ideas," said parliamentarian Haider al-Ebadi, a senior member of the Shiite Dawa Party. "The concern is that Washington will impose changes too fast and further than the Iraqis are ready to go."
On Friday, Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said that the military would be doing its own review of its Iraq strategy.
Said Stephen Hadley, the president's national security adviser, "The president said the other day that what was going on in Iraq in terms of our efforts (was) not working well enough and not working fast enough. And the question is, that being the judgment, how can we do better? And I think there's an opportunity for Republicans and Democrats to share some ideas on how to do that."
The 10-member Iraqi Study Group, led by Baker and former Sen. Lee Hamilton, D-Ind., has made several fact-finding missions to Iraq and has interviewed hundreds of officials and experts since it was formed in March. Before the end of the year, it is expected to hand President Bush a set of recommendations on how to accelerate progress in Iraq.
Baker is a longtime confidante and adviser to the president's father, President George H.W. Bush. Robert Gates, the former CIA director picked by the president to replace Rumsfeld, also has been a member of the group, although White House spokesman Tony Snow said Friday he would be resigning from the panel.
Comments
- Vegas, Poinsettia bowls or bust 2:01 a.m.
- Wildcats face tough defense 1:59 a.m.
- Aggies look to Idaho for an example 1:58 a.m.
- Aggies host Southern Utah 1:53 a.m.
- Cougars turn back Wildcats' 1:44 a.m.
- Cougar women lose at home 1:41 a.m.
- Sloan's two point guard lineup 1:39 a.m.
- BYU football: 5 keys to victory 1:36 a.m.
- RSL's Movsisyan departs 1:36 a.m.
- Glover gives Utes last-second upset 1:27 a.m.
- BYU would like friendlier rivalry
264 - Protests against Phoenix LDS temple
211 - Thunder rolls by Jazz
136 - Letters: Rushing to judge Palin
133 - Boys basketball rankings
128 - Editorial: Poor welcome for Palin
112 - Man trapped in Nutty Putty cave dies
109 - Letters: Trump card for believers
93 - Rivalry Week is highly profane
84 - Utah, BYU are top choices for bowls
75
When I was a kid, I worshipped my grandpa. He was undoubtedly my hero....
"You are the very epitome of self-indulgence liberal crassness. You care...
I thought it was a great parade. Isn't it the only one in Salt Lake County?...
is struggling in some aspects of his game. We saw what he did last year early...
Having explored caves as a youth and spent 31 yrs working occasionally...
How do the Utes continue to do this? They are bad enough to lose to lousy...
A little help here. Harmon says Utah should be on a 3-0 win streak. I assume...
disgruntled parents need to stay off the blogs...
Honk if you intercepted Max Hall.
however it pertinent to look at their schedule and then look at ours. Because...
and there are no ute fans, only bandwagon fans, nice try though



You can be the first to comment on this story.