Bush meets with Blair, says ISG Report 'just one' recommendation

The Iraq Study Group

President Bush said Thursday that a bipartisan panel's call for a major course change in Iraq was "a really important part of our considerations," but just one of several major sets of recommendations he will consider as he charts a new strategy.

Standing alongside chief Iraq war ally Tony Blair of Britain, the president acknowledged: "It's bad in Iraq." But he said he wanted to wait for reviews from the Pentagon and the State Department before he makes any final decisions on how to proceed.

Bush said he would make a major speech to the nation once he has completed his reviews.

Their meeting came a day after the Iraq Study Group headed by former Secretary of State James A. Baker III and former Democratic Rep. Lee Hamilton issued a withering report saying Iraq war policies had failed and a major course correction was needed, including beginning to withdraw combat troops.

"If the present situation needs to be changed, it follows that we'll change it," Bush said. He said he would make major policy decisions "after I get the reports" over the next several weeks.

He called the Baker-Hamilton report "certainly an important part of our deliberations and an important part of our discussions this morning." At the same time, Bush said, "I don't think Jim Baker and Lee Hamilton expect us to accept every recommendation."

Read the rest at the San Francisco Chronicale