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During this last week James Baker and his bi-partisan Iraq Study Group presented their recommendations. While many in the mainstream media, on the left, and undoubtedly in the European media and political elite, have applauded their effort (as has some right wing “realist” Americans, afraid, perhaps, of losing their reputation), there is reason to be skeptical towards what Baker and company actually says. Among those who realises this are John McCain, Mark Steyn (in his flamboyant fashion) and also the Iraqi Prime Minister, who expressed his worries on NBC News.

They are all right. Some of the suggestions are dangerous and also immoral. First the most obvious: bringing Syria and Iran in to stabilise the situation is like letting Putin lecture on democracy. Rather daft. It can’t be that hard to see that they are indeed not interested in stability in Iraq. If they were, they would probably not send in loads of warriors happy to blow Iraqis and Americans up. That means you have to give them something else for their co-operation (which wouldn’t be long-lived anyway), and there is not a whole lot to offer. To Iran: nukes. To Syria: Lebanon (again) and the Golan Heights. The disasters the first would lead to should be obvious to all, and exactly what gives Mr Baker the right to impose more suffering on the Lebanese and on the Israelis is rather unclear.

In addition to that one must wonder what good it could do to connect Iraq to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, except that having Israel pay the price for your own surrender would probably cheer up a lot of people in Europe. But that shouldn’t be a primary concern.

It’s not just Israel that would pay though. Leaving the Iraqis in the hands of Syria and Iran is all but certain to lead to more chaos and suffering, not less. And what an Iran with nukes could do, using their de-facto armed forces the terrorists, there is good reason to fear.

President Bush does seem a little reluctant to follow the advice of the ISG. Let’s hope he remains skeptical.

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