This is very interesting

In this essay, the Washington Monthly discusses a bipartisan group headed by James Baker that hopes to provide an alternative approach to the Iraq war. Some suspect it has ulterior motives--to try and take the legs out from under Dems in 08, but most assume that this is the grownup repubs trying to reassert some influence. It interests me because I have always believed that Bush 41 thought this war was ill-advised and that Bush 43 has done much of his "Presidency" because of how intimidating his father was to him intellectually, professionally, and in experience.

I hope like hell it works. I am one of those democrats who hates the idea of withdrawing from Iraq--not because I support the war--but because I don't like the resulting chaos. This panel could provide some kind of middle ground that tries to fix the unbelievable debacle that this President and Cheney have created.

I loved this, btw. To no one's surprise, Bush and Cheney were not happy about this group, especially Cheney. Reportedly, he threatened to shoot Baker in the face (ok, I made that up), but finally the idiots two decided to support it. Said our prez:

"In June, President Bush himself met briefly with the task force. 'Iraq is a complex situation,' Bush told them. 'And the fact that you are all willing to lend your expertise to help chart the way forward means a lot.'"

This, remember, from the same Commander in Chief who brought us this little gem:

A year after his "Axis of Evil" speech before the U.S. Congress, President Bush met with three Iraqi Americans, one of whom became postwar Iraq’s first representative to the United States. The three described what they thought would be the political situation after the fall of Saddam Hussein. During their conversation with the President, Galbraith claims, it became apparent to them that Bush was unfamiliar with the distinction between Sunnis and Shiites.

Galbraith reports that the three of them spent some time explaining to Bush that there are two different sects in Islam — to which the President allegedly responded, "I thought the Iraqis were Muslims!"

A full year after 9-11 and he didn't know the difference between Sunni's and Shiites. Unbelievable. And this brain trust authorized the most ill-advised war in American history.