"Stay-the-course" not U.S.'s only Iraq option: Baker

Reuters
"Stay-the-course" not U.S.'s only Iraq option: Baker

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - James Baker, a former U.S. secretary of state and close political associate of the Bush family, said on Sunday there are alternatives in Iraq for the United States other than the "stay-the-course" policy of President George W. Bush's administration.

Baker -- the co-chair of a high-level panel of prominent former officials charged by members of Congress with taking a fresh look at America's policy on Iraq, which has support from the White House -- said it would be a mistake for the United States to withdraw from Iraq over the next year.

But, in an interview on ABC's "This Week," he added, "I happen to think, and I think it's fair to say our commission believes, that there are alternatives between the stated alternatives ... of stay-the-course and cut-and-run."

Bush and his top officials say the United States must press on with war in Iraq. They accuse critics, including some Democrats, who call for a U.S. troop pullout or a timetable for withdrawal, of advocating a policy of "cut-and-run."

"I think that if we picked up and left right now that you would see the biggest civil war you've ever seen and every neighboring country would be involved in there doing its own thing," Baker said.

He said the panel, co-chaired by former Democratic Rep. Lee Hamilton, probably would issue its report some time after the November 7 congressional election and hoped to come up with a bipartisan consensus.

In response to questions, Baker said the task force was weighing the pros and cons of a number of ideas, including one that would create a new power-sharing arrangement in Iraq that would give more autonomy to regional factions.

Baker, a Texan lawyer, served as secretary of state and White House chief of staff for President George H. W. Bush. In 2000, he served as chief legal adviser for George W. Bush's presidential campaign and played a key role in the legal battles over the Florida vote recount that resulted in Bush's victory.