Trueblue
06-08-2008, 07:05 PM
McCain has made a big deal about what a bad idea unconditional talks with nations like Iran are-but that idea was appealing to the Iraq Study Group, led by that flaming liberal, James Baker. This investigative article is a bit dated [it is from March of 07], but it has lots of good info.
The ISG:
The ISG was led by co-chairs James Baker, a former Secretary of State (Republican), and Lee Hamilton, a former U.S. Representative (Democrat).
Republicans
In addition to Baker, the panel's Republican members were:
* Sandra Day O'Connor, former Supreme Court Justice
* Lawrence Eagleburger, former Secretary of State
* Edwin Meese III, former US Attorney General
* Alan K. Simpson, former U.S. Senator from Wyoming
Democrats
In addition to Hamilton, the panel's Democratic members were:
* Vernon Jordan, Jr., business executive
* Leon E. Panetta, former White House Chief of Staff
* William J. Perry, former US Secretary of Defense
* Charles S. Robb, former Governor and U.S. Senator from Virginia
Martin Indyk, the director of the Saban Center for Middle East Policy, at the Brookings Institution, and former U.S. ambassador to Israel, says Bush's decision reflects a mistaken belief that "elections are the most important way to promote democracy." Indyk explains, "It would have been better to build up the rule of law, establish independent judiciaries, promote freedom of religion and the press, and insist on the principle of a monopoly of force in the hands of the elected government. Ignoring that last principle in favor of elections was Bush's biggest mistake. As a result, in Palestine, Iraq, and Lebanon, parties with militias have moved into the government. Hamas, Muqtada al-Sadr, and Hezbollah have taken advantage of elections to promote their policies, which are antithetical to democracy."
Meanwhile, more than a month before its report was due to be released, sources close to the Iraq Study Group had begun talking to the press, and word quickly leaked out that its recommendations would be largely aimed at achieving stability rather than democracy in Iraq. When it came to Iran, a source told me, the I.S.G. might recommend "comprehensive and unconditional talks with the regime" in Tehran—something Bush had already ruled out.
In one sense, the neoconservative hawks—including the authors of "A Clean Break"—have been kept aloft by their failures. The strategic fiasco created by the Iraq war has actually increased the danger posed by Iran to Israel—and with it the likelihood of armed conflict. "[Bush's wars] have put Israel in the worst strategic and operational situation she's been in since 1948," says retired colonel Larry Wilkerson, who was Colin Powell's chief of staff in the State Department. "If you take down Iraq, you eliminate Iran's No. 1 enemy. And, oh, by the way, if you eliminate the Taliban, they might reasonably be assumed to be Iran's No. 2 enemy."
http://www.vanityfair.com/politics/features/2007/03/whitehouse200703?currentPage=1
The ISG:
The ISG was led by co-chairs James Baker, a former Secretary of State (Republican), and Lee Hamilton, a former U.S. Representative (Democrat).
Republicans
In addition to Baker, the panel's Republican members were:
* Sandra Day O'Connor, former Supreme Court Justice
* Lawrence Eagleburger, former Secretary of State
* Edwin Meese III, former US Attorney General
* Alan K. Simpson, former U.S. Senator from Wyoming
Democrats
In addition to Hamilton, the panel's Democratic members were:
* Vernon Jordan, Jr., business executive
* Leon E. Panetta, former White House Chief of Staff
* William J. Perry, former US Secretary of Defense
* Charles S. Robb, former Governor and U.S. Senator from Virginia
Martin Indyk, the director of the Saban Center for Middle East Policy, at the Brookings Institution, and former U.S. ambassador to Israel, says Bush's decision reflects a mistaken belief that "elections are the most important way to promote democracy." Indyk explains, "It would have been better to build up the rule of law, establish independent judiciaries, promote freedom of religion and the press, and insist on the principle of a monopoly of force in the hands of the elected government. Ignoring that last principle in favor of elections was Bush's biggest mistake. As a result, in Palestine, Iraq, and Lebanon, parties with militias have moved into the government. Hamas, Muqtada al-Sadr, and Hezbollah have taken advantage of elections to promote their policies, which are antithetical to democracy."
Meanwhile, more than a month before its report was due to be released, sources close to the Iraq Study Group had begun talking to the press, and word quickly leaked out that its recommendations would be largely aimed at achieving stability rather than democracy in Iraq. When it came to Iran, a source told me, the I.S.G. might recommend "comprehensive and unconditional talks with the regime" in Tehran—something Bush had already ruled out.
In one sense, the neoconservative hawks—including the authors of "A Clean Break"—have been kept aloft by their failures. The strategic fiasco created by the Iraq war has actually increased the danger posed by Iran to Israel—and with it the likelihood of armed conflict. "[Bush's wars] have put Israel in the worst strategic and operational situation she's been in since 1948," says retired colonel Larry Wilkerson, who was Colin Powell's chief of staff in the State Department. "If you take down Iraq, you eliminate Iran's No. 1 enemy. And, oh, by the way, if you eliminate the Taliban, they might reasonably be assumed to be Iran's No. 2 enemy."
http://www.vanityfair.com/politics/features/2007/03/whitehouse200703?currentPage=1