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Baker Commission calls for moving U.S. combat troops out of Iraq

Panel for direct American talks with Iran, Syria

PHOTO: AP

IN A BLIND ALLEY: Iraqi soldiers guard suspected militants at an army base in Baqouba, 60 km northeast of Baghdad on Wednesday.

WASHINGTON: The bipartisan commission on the war in Iraq on Wednesday recommended new and enhanced diplomacy so that U.S. combat forces can ``begin to move out of Iraq'' as soon as that can be done responsibly.

``The situation in Iraq is grave and deteriorating,'' the 10-member Iraq Study Group, headed by co-chairmen James A. Baker III and Lee Hamilton, warned after an eight-month review of the conflict. Portions of the report were obtained by the Associated Press. The report warned that if the situation continues to deteriorate, there is a risk of a ``slide toward chaos [that] could trigger the collapse of Iraq's Government and a humanitarian catastrophe.''

Bush pledge

President George W. Bush received the report in an early morning meeting at the White House with commission members, and pledged to treat each proposal seriously and act in a ``timely fashion.''

The report painted a grim picture of Iraq more than three years after U.S. forces toppled Saddam Hussein.

``Violence is increasing in scope and lethality,'' the commission warned. That was a blunt rebuttal of claims of sustained progress that the administration had made until recently. Mr. Bush said he told the 10 commission members that his administration will take their report, called ``The Way Forward," very seriously.

``This report gives a very tough assessment of the situation in Iraq,'' Mr. Bush said. ``It is a report that brings some really very interesting proposals, and we will take every proposal seriously and we will act in a timely fashion.'' The report called for the administration to try to engage Syria and Iran in diplomacy as part of an effort to bring stability to Iraq — even though Mr. Bush has said previously he would not negotiate with either country.

It also said there must be a renewed commitment by the U.S. to a comprehensive Arab-Israeli peace on all fronts: Lebanon, Syria and Mr. Bush's commitment to a two-state solution for Israel and Palestine. — AP

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