Bush Not Seeking "Graceful Exit" From Iraq

At the hastily arranged and rearranged summit in Amman, Jordan President Bush "reassured" Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki that Washington D.C. did not seek a "graceful exit" from Iraq but would like to speed up the turnover of security to the Iraqi's.

The meeting comes shortly after the "civil war" debate has reignited and amid a leaked memo which expresses the lack of faith in Maliki's abilities to handle situation. It's like the puppet master scolding the marionette.

Meanwhile, The Iraq Study Group, the 10-member, bipartisan panel tasked with studying the United States policy in Iraq will release its recommendations on Dec. 6.

Reuters is reporting that The Iraq Study group "has decided to recommend that the U.S. military transition from a combat role to a support role in Iraq." While The New York Times is reporting that "15 Brigades Would Gradually Stand Down Under Plan"

While the idea of a bipartisan The Iraq Study Group seems pleasant in theory the truth in the matter is that no member of the panel has any experience or expertise in middle eastern affairs.

Each member of the panel has experience in their own respective fields, unfortunately none of those respective fields directly relates to knowledge of warfare in the middle east or culture in the middle east.

It is unlikely the panels suggestions will in any way alter the decisions the President makes so I am not even going to allow myself to get excited at any kind of prospect of change because I simply do not see it happening any time soon.