Was the Iraq Study Group a "scam" to get through the election?

[kentuck]

I know they made an effort to not come out with anything until after the election and they wanted people to believe the plan was to withdraw the troops. The Republicans knew that the war was a drag on them winning the House or the Senate. Of course, James Baker would never involve himself in a "scam"...

And now that the election is over, George W Bush is going to do whatever he wants to do anyway, to hell with the Iraq Study Group. And they will simply fade into the shadows? Is that what is about to happen? The more I think about it, the more it seems like an election scam to try and rescue the Republicans from the war in Iraq. I do not trust these people at all.

[mike_c]

1. I'm not so sure-- just a hunch....

I think Baker delivered a message from Poppy-- not directly, it doesn't work that way, but nonetheless the big boys sent a message to dubya. Bush the younger will now ignore it, demonstrating his bravery, his machismo, and his ability to fuck up everything he touches. He is becoming more and more alone out there on his limb.

[savemefromdumbya]

2. voters are getting more and more frustrated

they are hoping that the people they voted for i.e. Democrats will save the day. (as my niece said, we need the Powerpuff Girls)

[eleny]

3. It's hard not to wonder if it was some ploy

A ploy in a long line of them to get lil w through his administration. Buying time - one month at a time.

Did you catch McLaughlin Group tonight? Lawrence O'Donnell asserted that w will go on letting soldiers die until his admin was over.

[kentuck]

4. I'm sure he will....

Our troops will still be in Iraq when the next President is sworn in ..

[janx]

5. No. Poppy's buddies are bailing out JR once again.

History repeats itself.

[everythingsxen]

6. No..

It is part of a broader shift in US policy in the Middle East.

I think the US is going to cut off Israel, if not outright attack, as a gesture of friendship with other MidEast nations. Like a sacrificial lamb, to appease upset voters (watch - soon the Administration will begin blaming AIPAC/Israel for the War) and warring enemies (all the Gulf Region states despise Israel), Israel will be given as a burnt offering to clean up Dubya's track record.

[Phredicles]

7. Wouldn't surprise me a bit;

I'm not sure I'd say specifically that they wanted people to believe there would be a plan to withdraw the troops, but I'm sure they were only too happy to forster the impression that there wasn't as much stubbornness, inflexibility, and Caligulesque craziness on the part of the Dear Leader as there in fact is.

[MarinCoUSA]

8. YES! The next one. It's all about getting a Repuke elected in '08

Poppy and friends know- like the whole friggin' world- that the repukes can't go into '08 election with the status quo in Iraq.

It's all about helping McCain or whoever in '08.

[orleans]

9. scam? why, whatever would give you that idea?? (ha!) check this out:

http://globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=viewArticle&code=CHI20061127&articleId=3987

"The Iraq Study Group (ISG) is a "bipartisan task force" created by the US Congress in response to the failure of the Bush administration to better manage the occupation of Iraq. Mainstream media reporting and official statements from Washington have characterized the ISG as proof of a "shift towards diplomacy" in the Middle East. These same reports cite the sponsorship of the so-called US Institute for Peace as evidence that the ISG represents a "change of course". In fact, the ISG is another official damage control apparatus, spearheaded by notorious Western political and corporate elites, former military-intelligence officers, and "experts" from right wing and intelligence-connected Western think tanks---one of which is the US Institute for Peace itself.

"The sponsor of the ISG is the US Institute for Peace (USIP). USIP’s directors and members feature prominently throughout the ISG’s panels.

(snip)

"Named in true Orwellian fashion, the US Institute for Peace is a harbor for elite managers of global warfare. Its former members have included the most notorious war criminals in modern history, among them Dick Cheney, Frank Carlucci, Caspar Weinberger, and Stephen Hadley.

Headed by former Iran-Contra officials

"The Iraq Study Group is charged with bringing "fresh eyes" to the Middle East conflict. However, one glance at the directors of the ISG should remove any illusions. The ISG’s leaders are world-renowned American elites and Cold Warriors, each of whom played major roles in the crimes of the Reagan-Bush and Clinton administrations.

"These are very old eyes, on very blood-soaked globalists who seek to fine-tune, perfect, and expand the war, not end it:

"Its co-chairs are James A. Baker III and Lee Hamilton. The chairmanship by this tag-team of war criminals itself promises more of the same.

"Former secretary of state Baker’s deep and extensive political and business connections to the Bush family, and high-level role in the Bush and Reagan-Bush administrations is well known. It was Baker who personally intervened to install George W. Bush as president in 2000. It was Baker, member of the Carlyle Group, who laid the groundwork behind 9/11 and the "war on terrorism". It is James A. Baker Institute for Institute for Public Policy pushing many aspects of on oil and petrodollar conquest. Now it is Baker coming to George W. Bush’s aid again, with "better ideas", by way of George H.W. Bush, Brent Scowcroft and Henry Kissinger.

"Hamilton is co-chair of the infamous 9/11 Commission, a blatant cover-up. Hamilton’s role with the ISG marks his third chairmanship of official cover-ups: Iran-Contra, 9/11, and now Iraq.

"Edwin Meese is the former Reagan administration attorney general. In addition to facilitating many aspects of the Iran-Contra/CIA drug trafficking operations of the 1980s and early 1990s, Meese is implicated in the crimes related to PROMIS software, including the Inslaw scandal, and the murder of Danny Casolaro.

"Lawrence Eagleburger is a former Reagan-Bush secretary of state, and another Iran-Contra insider. In line with the ideas of Baker, Scowcroft, Kissinger and Zbigniew Brzezinski, Eagleburger has been a blunt and outspoken critic of the "bungled" Bush-Cheney occupation. Note: Eagleburger replaced former CIA Director Robert Gates, who has been nominated to replace Donald Rumsfeld as Secretary of Defense.

"William Perry, Clinton administration secretary of defense, is a legendary proponent of all-out military force, and even nuclear confrontation.

"Vernon Jordan is the legendary Jimmy Carter-Clinton family confidant, advisor and Washington insider and damage control specialist, now a senior managing director of the investment firm Lazard Freres & Company.

"Sandra Day O’Connor, former Supreme Court justice, was a driving force behind the stolen election of 2000 that installed George W. Bush. (Recall that when informed of Al Gore’s potential victory, O’Connor gasped "oh, that’s terrible", and promptly headed to the Supreme Court chambers to illegally stop it.) Given her lack of expertise on foreign policy and military-intelligence matters, there is no explanation for O’Connor’s role on the ISG---except as the legal advisor who will facilitate law-bending and the destruction of more Constitutional and international laws.

"Other directors include former US senator, Republican Alan Simpson (classic obstructionist who provided political cover for a host of Reagan-Bush era scandals, and a spearhead for many Reagan-Bush judicial and cabinet appointments), the scandalized former Virginia senator, Chuck Robb, and the ubiquitous Democratic Party insider and former White House chief of staff, Leon Panetta.

http://globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=viewArticle&code=CHI20061127&articleId=3987

[ashling]

10. Since when did they do anything

that was NOT a scam?????