Commentary: Bush must act now on Iraq report

By Don Shepperd
CNN

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Editor's note: Maj. Gen. Don Shepperd, USAF (Ret.), is a CNN military analyst. Last week, he was briefed by members of the Iraq Study Group, and here he offers his analysis of what should be done next.

(CNN) -- Here's what I would do if I were President Bush following last week's blunt assessment by the Iraq Study Group. I would immediately call a press conference and say, "I accept the commission report in its entirety and will begin to implement it immediately."

I would begin to send a few combat troops home immediately as a message and embed at least a platoon with every Iraqi battalion, perhaps more. I would make our mission simply to train the Iraqi troops, not combat. I would participate in combat only with the Iraqis -- not on our own -- with some exceptions for Special Forces targeting key "wanted" figures.

I would not take on Muqtada al-Sadr's Mehdi Army, nor Abdul Aziz Hakim's Badr Brigades, but insist that the Iraqi government do so in the political arena and make reconciliation with the Sunnis the priority. I would find ways to share oil revenue and conduct reconstruction and pay fairly in the Sunni areas (currently much pay and reconstruction have stopped in Sunni areas).

I would begin to construct a base in the Kurdish area with promises to stay in the area -- if American promises mean anything anymore -- and make the Kurds rich in exchange for regional presence and promises not to pursue a separate Kurdish state.

I would withdraw combat forces slowly over time to Kuwait and the Kurdish area, but begin some immediately.

I would direct immediate U.S. involvement in the peace talks with Israelis and Palestinians.

I would construct the regional group as suggested by the Iraq Study Group and talk to Syria and Iran without pre-conditions while bringing in Jordan, the Gulf oil states, Egypt and Turkey. (Read highlights of the group's report)

I would work tirelessly to find a solution to the Iranian nuclear programs -- the "Sword of Damocles" hanging over the region.

I would not even consider increasing troop strength in Iraq.

I would reinvigorate our diplomacy, a total reversal, directing our State Department to immediately begin talks with all our enemies, as well as our friends, and demand that wherever possible we seek cooperation and alliances rather than engage in unilateral action.

Time to reverse direction

Here's why I would do this: We are not winning this war in Iraq and have no possibility of doing so. This war will be won by Iraqis over time, or not at all. This is no longer about winning; it is about managing our departure with acceptable options for the future.

This administration had good intentions and good (but arguable) reasons for going to war. Congress participated in the decision. Though some do not believe it, we went to war because we thought Saddam had weapons of mass destruction. We now know he did not, certainly not nukes.

When no WMDs were discovered, the reasons for the war have morphed into "bringing peace and democracy to the Middle East" and now "an Iraq that can survive, defend itself and be at peace with its neighbors." As laudable as these goals may be, Americans will not stand for continuing to send their kids home in body bags for such ethereal reasons. America is not at war, only our kids are.

But the war our kids are fighting has been badly managed. We made horrendous mistakes and bad assumptions that got us where we are. We must extricate ourselves. The American public and Congress will soon no longer support the war. If we don't do something dramatic, we face a Vietnam-like ending, when Congress cut off funds and the last helicopter departed the roof of the U.S. embassy in Saigon -- shame, sadness, an ugly picture and a vivid memory, especially for a Vietnam vet like me.

Our diplomacy has been a disaster. Despite being viciously attacked on 9/11, we are diplomatically isolated, the world's laughing stock and are blamed for everyone's ills. We are rapidly becoming the world's pariah rather than "the shining example on the hill."

We need a new course in every dimension. We need to start talking directly and continually to our enemies without pre-conditions: Iran, Syria, North Korea and many others; even the disgusting and vile must be engaged.

This commission report will not solve the problems in Iraq. It is not a plan. It is imperfect, even vastly flawed and overly simplistic. But it can be the political catalyst to reverse direction. "Stay the course, win and bring home the coonskin," are no longer options.

The president owes it to the American people to chart a new course; America owes it to the world and we all owe it to our kids. To squander this opportunity means it has all been for naught. It does not have to be so.

The world should not forget that when aroused and united, America is an awesome enemy, one to be feared and respected. Recall Japanese Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto's words after Pearl Harbor: "I fear we have awakened a sleeping giant."

We are not aroused, we are not united -- we can be -- it is up to the president.

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