Opinion: The Phony Argument Against an Iraq Timetable

Now it can be revealed: the Iraq Study Group will recommend a withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq. Sort of. According to leaks of its expected findings, the Baker-Hamilton commission plans to call for a "pullback" of as many as 75,000 troops from the front lines. To those who believe that the only sensible option left in Iraq is for the U.S. to begin the process of extricating itself, the Baker group's proposal would seem to provide some reason for optimism. But before those people get too excited, they should read the fine print. The Baker plan reportedly doesn't specify whether those troops should actually be pulled out of the country, or simply redeployed to bases on the periphery; nor does it provide any indication of when, or even whether, the remaining 70,000 U.S. troops would be pulled out — though the Washington Post reports the panel hopes that most would leave by 2008. It appears likely that the Baker group will avoid making the one clear and tangible proposal that could still turn the situation around in Iraq: setting a timetable for a U.S. pullout.

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