The Iraq Study Group ReportMike Rappaport

Charles Krauthammer dismisses the report and says its absurdity gives Bush one last chance to win in Iraq: 

A major objective of the New Diplomatic Offensive (as if pompouscapitalization makes for substance) is to bring Arab-Israeli peace.Baker thinks that if only the Israelis would surrender to Arab demands,all would be well in the Middle East.

Okay. Imagine that there ispeace between Israel and the Arabs. No, imagine an even better solutionfrom the Arab point of view — an earthquake that tomorrow swallowsIsrael whole and sinks it (like Santorini, 1650 B.C.) into theMediterranean. Does anyone imagine that the Shiites stop killingSunnis? That al-Qaeda stops killing Americans? That Iran and Syria workany less assiduously to destabilize post-Saddam Hussein Iraq? It’sthese obvious absurdities that made the report so dismissible.

Now that these 10 establishment sages have labored mightily to produce a mouse, the president has one last chance to come forward with a new strategy.

Hemust do two things. First, as I’ve been agitating for, establish a newgoverning coalition in Baghdad that excludes Moqtada al-Sadr, a cancerthat undermines the ability of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and hisgovernment to work with us. It is encouraging that Bush has alreadybegun such a maneuver by meeting with rival Shiite and Sunniparliamentary leaders. If we help produce a cross-sectarian governmentthat would be an ally rather than a paralyzed semi-adversary ofcoalition forces, we should then undertake part two: “Double down” ourmilitary effort. This means a surge in American troops with a specificmission: to secure Baghdad and (with the support of the Baghdadgovernment — a sine qua non) suppress Sadr’s Mahdi Army.

It is our last chance for success. Bush can thank the Iraq Study Group  and its instant irrelevance for making it possible.