Here is another leftist rant from that Communist publication USNews. Some think "Baker will have only minimal impact because the current president is so deeply committed to his current approach in Iraq." Deeply committed? More like ignorantly stubborn. And if this is the case, then Baker may not do much at all. Wonder how much he got paid to do this little bit of sleight of hand. I mean if this administration is putting aside $20 million for an Iraq war victory celebration sometime after Bush is out of office, then who knows where money is being spent.
Allies of Bush's Father Ask Baker to Push for Iraq Change
By Kenneth T. Walsh
Posted 10/16/06
Some friends and advisers to ex-President George H. W. Bush are urging former Secretary of State James Baker to be as forceful as possible in recommending a new course of action in Iraq for George W. Bush.
Baker was one of the closest confidants to the elder Bush, and he is now cochairing a citizens' commission studying the war in Iraq and ways to improve the situation there. Many members of the former president's foreign-policy and national-security team are privately troubled by the current president's policies in Iraq and criticize what they consider a series of mistakes in occupying the country, including lack of sufficient U.S. troops and failure to stem sectarian violence.
But so far the incumbent president hasn't budged from his approach of holding the line. Baker and his panel aren't expected to make recommendations until after the November 7 election, but Washington insiders who are close to the Bush family say they have rising hopes that Baker will come up with a plan to "save" the younger Bush's Iraq strategy. But there is another school of thought among the ex-president's advisers that Baker will have only minimal impact because the current president is so deeply committed to his current approach in Iraq.
According to this "realist" faction, Baker in the end won't allow the panel to recommend a big shift in course if he believes the White House will reject it or if he thinks it will embarrass the administration.
Full USNEWS Leftist Rant
Allies of Bush's Father Ask Baker to Push for Iraq Change
By Kenneth T. Walsh
Posted 10/16/06
Some friends and advisers to ex-President George H. W. Bush are urging former Secretary of State James Baker to be as forceful as possible in recommending a new course of action in Iraq for George W. Bush.
Baker was one of the closest confidants to the elder Bush, and he is now cochairing a citizens' commission studying the war in Iraq and ways to improve the situation there. Many members of the former president's foreign-policy and national-security team are privately troubled by the current president's policies in Iraq and criticize what they consider a series of mistakes in occupying the country, including lack of sufficient U.S. troops and failure to stem sectarian violence.
But so far the incumbent president hasn't budged from his approach of holding the line. Baker and his panel aren't expected to make recommendations until after the November 7 election, but Washington insiders who are close to the Bush family say they have rising hopes that Baker will come up with a plan to "save" the younger Bush's Iraq strategy. But there is another school of thought among the ex-president's advisers that Baker will have only minimal impact because the current president is so deeply committed to his current approach in Iraq.
According to this "realist" faction, Baker in the end won't allow the panel to recommend a big shift in course if he believes the White House will reject it or if he thinks it will embarrass the administration.
Full USNEWS Leftist Rant