Iraq Study Report highlights

WASHINGTON — The Iraq Study group delivered a grim assessment of conditions in Iraq and issued 79 recommendations for improvement. The report said:

— "Current U.S. policy is not working," the situation in Iraq is "grave and deteriorating" and America's ability to influence events there is diminishing.

— The U.S. should launch a diplomatic offensive by the end of the month and engage Syria, Iran and the leaders of insurgent forces in negotiations on Iraq's future.

— The U.S. must try harder to resolve the Arab-Israeli conflict and achieve broader peace in the Middle East.

— Milestones must be set for Iraqi government progress in security, governance and reconciliation, and the U.S. should make it clear that if progress is not made, American support will be reduced.

— "All combat brigades not necessary for force protection" could be pulled out of Iraq by the first quarter of 2008, depending on the security situation.

— Substantially more U.S. combat troops should switch to the role of training and advising Iraqi security forces by working within Iraqi units. U.S. commanders should determine the number, but the commission recommended increasing the number of U.S. advisers from the current 3,000-4,000 to 10,000 or 20,000.

— The tradition of strong partnership between the military services and their civilian leaders has frayed. The successor to Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld should "make every effort" to build healthy civilian-military relations by making senior military officer feel free to offer unvarnished advice.

— Although "the period of large U.S.-funded reconstruction projects is over," the report said the U.S. should provide $5 billion a year in economic assistance, better coordinate humanitarian and other aid and encourage other countries to help.

— The U.S. should encourage international investment in Iraq's oil production and security, and provide technical assistance on the safety and management of oil fields.

— The U.S. should provide more political, economic and military support for Afghanistan

— The Pentagon and CIA must improve and increase the number of personnel with the language skills and cultural expertise to operate effectively in Iraq, because that failure has hampered intelligence gathering.