By host Tom Ashbrook:
For months the country waited while Iraq burned and the President said stay the course. Today, the bipartisan Iraq Study Group — five Republicans and five Democrats commissioned by Congress and led by former Secretary of State James Baker and Indiana Congressman Lee Hamilton — finally has its say.
The day after Robert Gates tells the nation “we are not winning,” the Iraq Study Groups delivers its long-awaited advice on what to do about that. It’s a tall order to fix Iraq now. Maybe taller than even this august group can deliver on. But the country and the world are all ears.
This hour On Point: we listen as the Iraq Study Group speaks on what to do with the war in Iraq.
Quotes from the Show:
“This report is taking Bush’s foreign policy in general and his policy in Iraq and turning it on its head.” Barbara Bodine
“The president can’t ignore this and the American Congress and people will not allow him to.” Barbara Bodine
“This report is practically a spanking for the Bush administration’s policy in Iraq.” Michael Duffy
“This [report] is a recommendation, not a policy.” Michael Duffy
Guests:
Ambassador Barbara Bodine, visiting scholar at the MIT Center for International Studies. She is former coordinator for post-conflict reconstructionin Baghdad, and ambassador to Yemen from 1997-2001
Michael Duffy, Assistant Managing Editor of TIME magazine.
