Opinion (James Carroll): Desperate for answers to all-important Iraq riddle

The Iraq Study Group

IN MYTHOLOGY, when the ancients were desperate for an answer, they would present themselves to the Sphinx and ask their question. The Sphinx would reply with a riddle. The riddle would reveal the needed wisdom. But to go to the Sphinx was an act of desperation because, if you failed to answer the riddle correctly, the Sphinx would kill you.

Our nation stands before the Sphinx today. That is how desperate we are about Iraq. What is the good way out of a bad war? We hired the Baker commission to speak for us, and it was remarkable for its frank assessment of the Bush administration's failure, labeling the American effort as weak, deteriorating -- "not working."

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