Iraq Study Report is Not a Serious Document

I sat through the press conference of the Iraq Study Group and watched a bunch of old boys congratulate themselves on getting on so well and coming to consensus agreement. On what?
Beats me. There is nothing there. "Where's the beef?"

But seriously....
Winning the war is not in the document. Military option/strategy  is not in the document. I can't spend a lot of time on the something so unsubstantive.

Bill Kristol just said, the report is "not a serious document" I couldn't agree more.

Look we are in this war in Iraq and we've got to win. It's just that simple, whether the leftards choose to acknowledge the tough reality that our lives depend on it. You can avoid evil, but you can't avoid the consequences of avoiding evil ( a common theme on this blog.)

We need a plan for winning. This was not it. Not at all.  It was a jerk off.

UPDATE: Apparently I am not alone in my thinking. Thanks to Larwyn;

The COUNTERTERRORISM BLOG will be updating as their contributing experts

weigh in: Iraq Study Group Report Available Here - Advises Iraq Pullout & "Constructive Engagement" With Iran & Syria 

Dr Sanity point out the insanity: OH YES! LET'S ENGAGE IRAN & SYRIA

Curt over at Flopping Aces  doesn't like it either.

STACLU has a blog round up here.

NZ,the  great bear, converted the ISG report into a series of HTML pages so that bloggers can comment on particular statements / sections of the report and send their readers directly to the text in question (rather than just referencing the whole PDF version published by the ISG itself). The html version of the report is here. Great stuff, thanks NZ.

UPDATE: Best analysis I found anywhere is at Vital Perspective here. They've made the full text of the ISG press conference available by clicking here. As you'll read in the transcript, Barbara Slavin from USA Today addressed some of the issues every rational, freedom loving person is  concerned here regardingengaging Iran and Syria.

Gets worse. They actually endorse Palestinian right of return. Right of return? A ruse to eliminate the Jewish state.

The ISG has endorsed the Palestinian so-called 'right of return' by including it as an issue to be discussed as part of an Israeli-Palestinian peace agreement. This is what they wrote:

Concerning the Palestinian issue, elements of that negotiated peace should include:

• Adherence to UN Security Council Resolutions 242 and 338 and to the principle of land for peace, which are the only bases for achieving peace.
• Strong support for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and the Palestinian Authority to take the lead in preparing the way for negotiations with Israel.
• A major effort to move from the current hostilities by consolidating the cease-fire reached between the Palestinians and the Israelis in November 2006.
• Support for a Palestinian national unity government.
• Sustainable negotiations leading to a final peace settlement along the lines of President Bush’s two-state solution, which would address the key final status issues of borders, settlements, Jerusalem, the right of return, and the end of conflict.

THe worse news. We've got two yars of this and the demonrats have even taken over yet.

Comments

[shoelimpy™]

Personally I think that calling it a jerk-off is giving it too much credit.

[clyde]

Whatever these people got paid for their "study", I want my money back.

[DoctorDentons]

This "over the hill gang" was in Iraq ONE TIME and never left the Green Zone and yet they can write intelligently on this subject...give me a freakin' break. This is nothing but an expensive perk that is being paid for by the public...as usual.

[--mdd--]

I'm not sure that they were not stuufing their coffers with some middle eastern monies while they were there. Similar to what Baker did last time he was there for B-43 in '03.

"After the 2003 invasion of Iraq, Baker was appointed to the unpaid
position of "special envoy" on Iraq's post-war debt. While on a
worldwide tour asking nations to forgive or restructure Iraq's debt,
Baker finagled a billion-dollar investment in the Carlyle Group from
the Kuwaiti government."

[BillBowen]

Rush has got the right take on this: he is calling the commission the "Iraq SURRENDER Commission". It appears to me that the prescription this commission is peddling will give us something that is 10X WORSE than Vietnam.

Notice that there is not ONE person on this commission with any military command experience - we've got a bunch of retired retread State Dept. weenies (like Jim Baker, who has his lips superglued to the Saudi's butt cheeks - remember, Baker's law firm is defending the Saudis against a lawsuit by some 9-11 families) and a senile old Supreme Court Justice that can't even read the 14th Amendment properly. What else did we expect this group of underachivers to produce?

The net result I see if this strategy is implemented:

1) The internal conflict in Iraq really DOES become a civil war (actually, it does not fit the definition of a civil war - it will be more like the "free for all" in Darfur). The number killed today per day will appear very small by comparison.

2) Turkey takes over the Kurdish area of Northern Iraq (at the present time they are already occupying a small part of Northern Iraq). The Turks are scared to death that their Kurdish minority might try and unite with the Kurds in Iraq - without the US there to prevent it, they will do a pre-emptive strike.

3) Iran attempts to take over the southern half of Iraq, and the Saudis intervene to prevent the mass murder of the Sunnis by the Shiites.

4) With Syria & Iran emboldened by this cut and run, Hamas and the Hezbos start a 2-front war on Israel, aided by arms funneled to Hamas via Egypt. Syria may well join in the direct fighting, and Iran already has missles that can reach Israel. Their object is to carry out Amadinawackjob's pledge to exterminate Israel.

5) The perceived weakness of the US will ripple througout the world - ole Hugo, just coming off his big election victory, will increase his aggitation in South America, the Commie Chinese will increase the pressure on Taiwan: basically every place where the US has an interest our enemies will become emboldened.

Bottom line: a total disaster for sanity and civilization in the Middle East & elsewere.

An old friend of mine from Idaho has a definition for consensus - "You get conned into taking leave of your senses". Another one (from Pennsylvania) says "consensus is the liberal's substitute for leadership". I can't add to much to that, other than the hope that GW reads the report, then promptly places it in the rotary file.

[tazzerman2000]

For the second time in my life, I am going to be witness to this country, pulling out of a war and leaving the civilian population at the mercy of killers, thugs and leftist death squads.

This time however, the giant power vacum that will be left over after we 'Murtha-ize' the Iraqis, will be filled by the Iranians who will then sit astride a HUGE portion of the free-worlds jugular vein.

The Iranians will be THE power in the gulf and even the Saudis will be unable to check them.

In my humble estimation, Israel will NOT be the first target.. Even after all of Irans bluster about nukes, they fully understand that the easiest and best way to hurt us is to cut the production of oil or at least lend instability to the global markets.

They know that the west is insatiable when it comes to oil, they also know that they have China, Japan, S. Korea, and virtually everyone else, over a barrel so to speak.

Why do you think that they've become so chummy with Chavez and continue their relationship with Putan? I have no doubt that both Chavez AND Putan have helped them to draft their long term plans.

There plan is pretty clear to me at least... put the screws to us via our exposed weakness, oil. Pray that it topples our economy and causes widespread panic and fear.

Possibly even the election of some proxy/puppit who is VERY favorable to Iran.

Use THAT as leverage to 'deal' with Israel. In other words, erode support for Israel from within and then, when the time is right, strike utilizing everything at their disposal EXCEPT nukes..

Hezzbolah, Hamas, Pali citizens, AQ everything including the kitchen sink, from Leb, Gaza and Syria..

Who knows, maybe they can even get Jordan to go along.

They';re goal of course is to capture Jerusalem and as much of present day Israel as possible, killing as many Jews as they can along the way.

We will be unable to counter without seriously jeopardizing our already shaky economys

I have NO doubt that the Iranianss will not hesitate in touching off a global depression. None what so ever. They have oil which will always be in high demand.

By pulling out of Iraq without total, 100% victory and a strong/stable and independent Iraq in place, we set into motion the start of what will eventually lead to the REAL WWIII...

The loss of life will be enormous, dwarving what we've seen in the past.

The outcome is by no means assured.

[tazzerman2000]

Billbowen, we must have been typing at the very same time :) I agree with virtually all of your assessment as well. You have quite a bit more detail, I tried to broadbrush.. The only place we differ really is on the sequence. I fully beleive that Iran is trying to at least split the west and at most fracture the US on the question of Israel. That fracturing would open a window for them to do what we both agree they plan on.

I just think that they've learned their lesson and will attempt to 'deal' with us first and leave us unable to come to Israel's defense, thus assuring them victory.

[BillBowen]

Tazzerman, I could say that great minds think alike . . .

Seriously, as to the sequence of events, only the first 3 are in the exact order I think they will occur - the remainder may happen in any order.

Three "wild cards" in the whole equation - what does GW do {and what Congress lets him do), does the Israeli public come to their senses and overthrow the Olmert government (yep, I'm serious about that statement. I cannot see the IDF for too much longer letting Olmert sell the Israeli people down the river. Unless there is a peaceable change in government real soon I see the distinct possibly of a military coup), and what, if anything, the Iranian people do with/about Amadinawackjob?

The next few years will be interesting, disruptive, scary and enlightening. I don't think I'm being too melodramatic in saying that the future of western civilization, as we know it, hangs in the balance. History will judge the US very harshly if we dont not win not just the war in Iraq but the overall war of western civilization VS 7th century barbarism (AKA the "War on Terror").

[neverforget]

Reid's comment today that Rockefeller is going to investigate President Bush regarding use of WMD rationale to remove Saddam and other Democrats hinting that any funding for Iraq will have contingencies attached give a clear message to accept and act on all the ISG recommendations or face impeachment.

[Irish Cicero]

Deja Flashback:

Dear God.

1975 all over again.

[CottShop]

this war has turned into a fight for democracy in Iraq to a fight for political leverage here in the U.S- This report was irresponsible- playing God with the lives of people desperate for freedom and democracy in Iraq! http://sacredscoop.com

[viahj]

Carter --> hostages, rise of islamic iran

Reagan --> Beruit retreat

Bush41 --> left Saddam in power

Clinton --> Somalia, WTC '93, Cole, African embasies

Bush43 --> Iraq? Isreal? fall of Europe? fall of America?

all of these are our failures to fight when we have been faced with islamic terrorism

[Irish Cicero]

This is it.

They've pulled the pin on their own country.

[DoctorDentons]

Bill and Tazz: These are some of the most cogent posts that I have read.
Irish: Yep, the pin has been pulled and we aren't going to be the only one to feel the heat from the explosion. BE AWARE !

[Richard Davis]

bipartisan consensus = the liberal way.