Rice says we'll Stay The Course

"I must tell you, I'm sleeping a lot better than people would assume." -- Bush to People Mag this week.

After years of asserting that the US would "stay the course," Bush mysteriously distanced himself from those words in late October: "we've never been stay the course," he told George Stephanopoulos.

But that was in the bend your knees and take deep breaths pre-Iraq Study Group era. Now that the ISG's report has been made public, deflected and debated, it's time for it to be... dismissed.

Among the most crucial -- and most DUH -- parts of the report are recommendations that we negotiate with Iran and Syria in our effort to help Iraq achieve anything that resembles stability: "If we don't talk to them, we don't see much progress being made," Hamilton said. "You can't look at this part of the world and pick and choose which countries you're going to deal with."

In an interview with the Washington Post, Condi essentially said "f that":

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice yesterday rejected a bipartisan panel's recommendation that the United States seek the help of Syria and Iran in Iraq, saying the "compensation" required by any deal might be too high. She argued that neither country should need incentives to foster stability in Iraq.

"If they have an interest in a stable Iraq, they will do it anyway,"

She also said that "there would be no retreat from the administration's push to promote democracy in the Middle East."

"Get ready. We are going to the Middle East a lot," Rice said.

You know, since it's working out so well.

Now here's the part you bookmark for future reference:

The panel, which was chartered by Congress, warns of dire consequences, both at home and abroad, if the U.S. fails to take action.

"If the situation continues to deteriorate, the consequences could be severe. A slide toward chaos could trigger the collapse of Iraq's government and a humanitarian catastrophe," the report says.

"Neighboring countries could intervene. Sunni-Shia clashes could spread. Al Qaeda could win a propaganda victory and expand its base of operations. The global standing of the United States could be diminished. Americans could become more polarized."