Earlier today, James Baker endorsed President Bush’s plan to surge troops into Baghdad, as did Lee Hamilton, who co-chaired the bipartisan Iraq Study Group with Baker. Baker told the Senate Foreign Relation Committee that “the president’s plan ought to be given a chance . . . Just give it a chance.” Said Hamilton, “If we can put this together there is a chance we can reasonably succeed. But we realize that is a very, very daunting challenge.” The Iraq Study Group’s final report did recommend “a short-term redeployment or surge of American combat forces to stabilize Baghdad, or to speed up the training and equipping mission, if the U.S. commander in Iraq determines that such steps would be effective.” And the U.S. commander, General David Petraeus, has determined just that. Democrats have been vociferous in their opposition to any proposed surge of troops, but in the days following the report’s release, they overwhelmingly endorsed its recommendations. Now that Baker and Hamilton have reiterated their support for an increase in troop numbers, Democrats will find themselves in the awkward position of having to go along with the plan or disavow the group’s recommendations, which have otherwise been warmly embraced by the Democratic party. Either way, Baker and Hamilton have just made life a lot more difficult for Congressional Democrats, denying them the opportunity to hide behind a bipartisan commission as they push for withdrawal and defeat in Iraq.
