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James Baker on Iraq: "Helluva Mess"

October 20, 2006

Former Secretary of State James Baker weighs in on the situation in Iraq declaring it to be a "helluva mess." And this is from the experienced diplomat who has been selected to head up the bipartisan committee to advise President Bush on how to extricate himself from said mess.

Former U.S. secretary of state James Baker was visibly shocked when he last visited Iraq, and said the country was in a "helluva mess", the BBC reported today. Mr Baker is leading a review of the situation in Iraq by a bipartisan US committee of experts, and is expected to recommend a change in US strategy for rebuilding Iraq.

Citing a unnamed close friend and ally of Mr Baker's, himself a top politician, the BBC reported that Mr Baker said "there simply weren't any easy solutions". Mr Baker was secretary of state to US President George W. Bush's father, president George Bush. Citing unnamed members of Mr Baker's committee, The Los Angeles Times yesterday said that two options under consideration would represent reversals of US policy - withdrawing American troops in phases, and bringing neighbouring Iran and Syria into a joint effort to stop the fighting.

The BBC also reported that a third possibility was under consideration - to concentrate on getting stability in Iraq, and stop aiming to establish a democracy there. The 10-member commission has agreed that change must be made, the Times report said. "It's not going to be 'stay the course,'" the paper quoted one participant as saying. "The bottom line is, (current policy) isn't working. There's got to be another way."

The scope of this disaster was only widened today with the news that Shiite cleric Moktada al-Sadr's forces took control of a large secion of the Iraqi city of Amara today. His forces destroyed police stations and patrolled entire neighborhoods. General David Grange told CNN that it is crucial that we not allow this militia to win this battle: U.S. forces simply cannot allow the extremists to do this. We look weak, the Iraqi police force looks weak (which it is) and it will only increase violence in the area.

It is absolutely appalling how mismanaged this war has been. In Bob Woodward's second book Woodward quoted General Colin Powell (who was later fired by Bush) telling the president that we must go into Iraq with overwhelming force or the war effort could turn into a disaster. Rumsfeld argued successfully instead for a "lean and mean" army, saying that victory would come quickly. Powell's predictions have all come true, including his Crate and Barrel analogy: we broke Iraq, now it's ours. Only Rumsfeld and Bush don't seem to know what to do with it.

Ignoring the advice of military experts consistently has led us to this point in time. It's now time for a change in Washington. And if recent poll numbers are any indication, we may be about to get it -- in Congress, anyway. Unfortunately, Rumsfeld will still be in charge no matter who wins the mid-terms.

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