The White House
President George W. Bush
Print this document

For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
January 31, 2007

The Rest of the Story: Sec. Baker Outlines "Common Elements" In The Iraq Study Group's Report And The President's New Strategy

      Setting the Record Straight

"The President's plan makes clear that U.S. forces will be sent to Baghdad to help Iraqis clear and secure neighborhoods. That means combat operations, including possibly door-to-door sweeps. The Study Group made the assessment that the security of Baghdad is crucial to security in Iraq more generally and while we were in Baghdad at the end of the summer, Iraqi and American leaders told us that as Baghdad goes, so goes Iraq. … The Study Group … did state that it could support a short-term redeployment or surge of American combat forces to stabilize Baghdad or to speed up the training and equipping mission, if the United States commander in Iraq [said] that such steps would be effective."

– Iraq Study Group Co-Chair James A. Baker, III, Senate Foreign Relations Committee Testimony, 1/30/07

According To Reports On Yesterday's Testimony By The Iraq Study Group Co-Chairmen: "… [T]he leaders of the Iraq Study Group … disputed the White House's contention that most of their recommendations had been incorporated into Mr. Bush's troop increase plan."

But Secretary Baker Discussed Agreement On Additional Troops To Secure Baghdad

Secretary Baker Discussed Agreement On Rejecting An Immediate Withdrawal

Secretary Baker Discussed Agreement On Securing Iraq

Secretary Baker Discussed Agreement On The Importance Of National Reconciliation In Iraq

Secretary Baker Discussed Agreement On The Consequences Of Failure In Iraq

# # #


Return to this article at:
/news/releases/2007/01/text/20070131-2.html

Print this document