Baker Commission

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The Baker Commission , actually Iraq Study Group (also Iraq Commission or Iraq Study Group ( ISG)), was an independent commission that was set up on March 15, 2006 by the American Congress to make an independent assessment of the situation in Iraq and make recommendations for future strategies and actions. On December 6, 2006, the Iraq Study Group published its final report.

Members

Lee H. Hamilton (left) and James Baker (right) with George W. Bush at the launch of the Iraq Study Group Report on December 6, 2006

The commission was chaired by former Secretary of State James Baker and Democrat and former Vice President of the Commission of Inquiry into the 9/11 attacks, Lee H. Hamilton . Four members each from the Republican Party and four Democrats also took part in the commission.

The commission was supported by a staff of 40 experts, whose selection was also based on ideologically balanced orientation in order to facilitate a consensus. The camp of the so-called neoconservatives , which had most strongly advocated the Iraq war , was represented by only two experts on the staff.

republican

Like Baker and Hamilton, the other members are not considered extreme party ideologues and are only partially foreign or security politicians. The Republican members are Lawrence Eagleburger (Baker's successor as Secretary of State under Bush Sr.), Edwin Meese (Attorney General under President Reagan), Sandra Day O'Connor (former federal judge) and former Senator Alan K. Simpson .

Democrats

The Democrats were represented by Leon Panetta (Clinton Chief of Staff), William Perry (former Secretary of Defense), attorney Vernon Jordan (also a confidante of Clinton) and former Senator Chuck Robb .

former members

Rudolph Giuliani , former Mayor of New York , was originally a member of the Baker Commission. However, he declared his retirement on May 24, 2006 due to lack of time and was replaced by Edwin Meese.

Former CIA director Robert Gates was also a member of the Baker Commission until he was nominated on November 8, 2006 by US President George W. Bush to succeed Donald Rumsfeld as Secretary of Defense. Lawrence Eagleburger moved up to the commission for Gates .

History of the commission

The development of the ISG is unusual. In contrast to previous commissions (such as the Warren Commission ), it was neither set up by the President nor by Congress, although it does enjoy official approval. The Republican MP Frank Wolf is considered the spiritual father . In September 2005, after a trip to Iraq, he suggested the formation of an “independent and balanced group of respected individuals” in order to look at the Iraq question with “fresh eyes” two years after the liberation from dictatorship. Wolf also wanted to dampen the growing doubts about the necessity of military engagement and warned - in view of the feared civil war - of the consequences of failure. He planned the procedure together with the heads of three “ think tanks ”, the Center for the Study of the Presidency , the Institute of Peace and the Center for Strategic and International Studies .

In order to ensure the greatest possible acceptance of the commission, it should be represented equally by the major parties. Lee Hamilton, who was already involved in the investigation into the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001 and who heads the committees for foreign policy and intelligence in the House of Representatives , was won as Democratic co-chair . On the Republican side, James Baker , former finance and foreign minister and skeptic of the Iraq engagement from the start , offered himself up . As an old friend of the presidential family, Baker only wanted to take over the commission with the consent of the White House , not in opposition to it. The three “think tank experts” therefore advertised their concern to Secretary of State Rice in November 2005 , who finally got Bush's approval.

The Iraq Study Group was officially established on March 15, 2006. She received no official mandate, but a budget of $ 1 million from Congress . The members had already been negotiated between the two chairmen and the research institutes involved in order to achieve the best possible conditions for a consensus .

Results

The Iraq Study Group Report was presented on December 6, 2006. In this report the Commission calls for a realignment of US policy on Iraq. It is recommended that all combat troops be withdrawn by the beginning of 2008; units should only remain behind for protective tasks and for training the Iraqi army. To compensate for this, diplomatic efforts to find a solution to the crisis situation would have to be stepped up. The Baker Commission explicitly demands the inclusion of Syria and Iran . The last demand in particular has met with opposition from the United States government, on which the Commission's demands are not binding.

swell

  1. Engl. Iraq Study Group (ISG) ( Memento of June 10, 2009 in the Internet Archive ), but also Baker-Hamilton Commission
  2. ^ Michael Rubin: Conclusion First, Debate Afterwards . In: The Weekly Standard from October 30, 2006.-10-30 ( Memento from September 29, 2007 in the Internet Archive )
  3. News Release: Edwin Meese Replaces Rudolph Giuliani on Iraq Study Group, United States Institute of Peace, May 31, 2006. ( Memento of May 9, 2009 in the Internet Archive )
  4. ^ Eagleburger to join US Iraq study group , in Reuters , November 10, 2006.

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