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Senate Hearing Shows Differing Views on Iraq Study Group Report

Key senators offer divergent assessments of bipartisan report

Members of the bipartisan Iraq Study Group, which issued a report December 6 recommending significant changes in the U.S. policy toward Iraq, have emphasized the need for political unity behind the Iraq strategy. But congressional leaders already have begun staking out divergent positions on the report and its recommendations.

When the group's co-chairmen, former Republican Secretary of State James Baker and former Democratic Congressman Lee Hamilton, appeared before the Senate Armed Services Committee on December 7 to discuss their proposals, they received broad appreciation for their work but widely differing assessments of their recommendations.

Incoming Committee Chairman Carl Levin, a Michigan Democrat, called the report "a powerful, comprehensive plan for a change in course, including calling for an end to the open-ended commitment of American troops as a way of pressing the Iraqis to take responsibility for their own future."

This recommendation corresponds with a position Levin has advocated for more than a year. He said an open-ended commitment of U.S. forces provides no incentive for the Iraqi government to make difficult political decisions and he has recommended deadlines for a gradual U.S. troop reduction.

Current Senate Armed Services Chairman John Warner, a Virginia Republican, welcomed the group's report, but said it is just one of three reviews President Bush would have to consider before making a decision on which recommendations to implement. The Joint Chiefs of Staff and the president's National Security Council soon will issue their own reports. Warner cautioned the Congress against embracing one plan without seeing all the proposals.

Baker said he hoped the president and the Congress would not treat the report "like a fruit salad," picking and choosing among the recommendations they like. He said the recommendations represent a comprehensive strategy for confronting U.S. difficulties in Iraq and across the Middle East.

Senator John McCain, an Arizona Republican, was critical about the group's proposals. He said the recommendation that the United States withdraw the bulk of its combat forces was "a recipe that will lead to, sooner or later, our defeat in Iraq." McCain has been a strong proponent of sending more U.S. troops to help stabilize the security situation. He also said the group's plan to embed U.S. military advisers in Iraqi units without U.S. force protection puts those troops at risk.

The senator also was skeptical about the recommendation that the United States engage Iran and Syria in direct dialogue over Iraq. He questioned the usefulness of "a peace conference with people who are dedicated to your extinction."

Senator Joseph Lieberman, a Connecticut Independent, echoed this concern, saying the United States is strong enough to negotiate with anyone, but adding, "[T]o say ... as you do, that, 'Iran should stem the flow of arms and training to Iraq, respect Iraq's security and territorial integrity, and use its influence over Iraqi Shia groups to encourage national reconciliation' - why is there any reasonable belief that the Iranians should do any of the things that you think they should do? And if they do, won't they ask us an unacceptable price?"

Baker and Hamilton defended their proposal for dialogue with Iran, saying the United States has nothing to lose by inviting Tehran to talk. Hamilton also pointed out that Iran has an interest in averting the collapse of Iraq, as that would send a destabilizing flood of refugees into Iran.

Senator Hillary Clinton, a New York Democrat, asked the group's co-chairmen what role Congress could play in encouraging the Bush administration to adopt the strategies laid out in the report. Baker said the unified support of the Congress for the report's recommendations would influence the White House. Hamilton counseled "vigorous, robust oversight." He said that until now, the Congress has been "extraordinarily timid" in its constitutional responsibility of overseeing the president's war policies.

The executive summary of the Iraq Study Group report is posted on USINFO.

See also Iraq Update.

Source: U.S. Department of State