Iraq Reviews, the Middle East, and the Israeli-Palestinian Problem

By Brigitte L. Nacos
After his party’s decisive defeat in last week’s mid-term election and a meeting with his foreign policy advisers and, President Bush launched an in-house/administration review of the situation in Iraq as the Washington Post’s Robin Wright reports today. Although allegedly not in competition with the bi-partisan Study Group, led by James Baker and Lee Hamilton (and presumably not with the promised Iraq initiatives by he Democrats in Congress?), it seems curious that the White House ordered this “sweeping internal review” hastily with the goal to “complete the process before mid-December, about the time the Iraq Study Group's final report is expected.” If this does not look like a premature non-confidence vote for the work and forthcoming recommendations of the Baker-Hamilton Group, the fact that the President met members of this Group for just one hour and fifteen minutes certainly does. It is impossible to have a meaningful discussion about the situation in Iraq, the larger Middle-East, and new policy approaches to both in 75 minutes.

According to the Post, National Security Adviser Stephen J. Hadley is overseeing the administration review. But Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is very much involved as well as Wright reports:  

Rice has been doing “a lot of thinking” about the issue over the past two months, State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said yesterday. “The primary focus is on the State Department's role in Iraq and are we pursuing the proper policies, are we seeking the right objectives, are we using the right means to achieve those objectives, following the right strategies and right tactics?" he told reporters.

Although coming belatedly, if Dr. Rice’s “a lot of thinking” about the Iraq fiasco helps to bring about a shift from Pentagon dominance to a greater role for the State Department and diplomatic approaches, this would mean real change and probably coincide with some recommendations of the Baker-Hamilton Group.

In his session with the Iraq Study Group, British Prime Minister Tony Blair emphasized the importance of diplomacy in solving the Iraq situation and the problems in the  Middle East, most of  all the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. As for Israelis and Palestinians, if Blair has a plan, I hope he revealed it to the Baker-Hamilton Group. Nothing will be accomplished by Mohammad Shbair replacing Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas and the formation of a Palestinian unity government unless Hamas and other Palestinian groups abandon their terrorist activities once and for all and accept Israel’s right to exist. But just as there was a glimmer of hope that the discussed changes in the Palestinian government could revitalize the peace process and bring back some of those resources to Gaza and the West Bank that the EU, Israel and the United States withhold since Hamas came to power, Hamas leaders insisted once again that they would never recognize Israel and never accept a two state solution.