US:The ISG report is a clear repudiation of Mr Bush's handling of Iraq, writes Denis Staunton
Washington has been speculating for weeks about the findings of the Iraq Study Group, but yesterday's report took the political class by surprise with the bleakness of its assessment of the situation in Iraq and the detail of its proposals for action.
The report's sober tone was set in its opening words: "The situation in Iraq is grave and deteriorating. There is no path that can guarantee success but the prospects can be improved."
The group's 10 members - five Republicans and five Democrats - made clear that they see their plan as the last chance to rescue Iraq and the US from the catastrophic effects of President George Bush's bungled 2003 invasion.
Although the report avoids direct criticism of the administration, it can only be read as a repudiation of Mr Bush's handling of Iraq and of his entire approach to foreign policy.
The president said yesterday that he would take all the report's proposals seriously and act in a timely fashion, but the White House is also considering other reports on Iraq, including an internal review of the administration's policy.
"The country, in my judgment, is tired of pure political bickering that happens in Washington, and they understand that on this important issue of war and peace, it is best for our country to work together. And I understand how difficult that is, but this report will give us all an opportunity to find common ground, for the good of the country - not for the good of the Republican Party or the Democratic Party, but for the good of the country," he said.
The Iraq Study Group's call for a withdrawal of all US combat troops by early 2008 "absent unforeseen developments" will please some critics of the war. The administration was already moving towards a change in the US military role, however, putting greater emphasis on training and supporting Iraqi forces.
The report's recommendations for greater progress towards political reconciliation within Iraq will also be uncontroversial in the US. Its call for US military and economic assistance to be linked with such progress resonates with the growing impatience expressed by politicians in both parties with the Iraqis' failure to clean up the mess the US invasion created.
The most problematic proposal for the administration will be the report's call for a major diplomatic offensive - to be launched before the end of this month - that would include direct talks with Iran and Syria and an energetic and sustained effort to resolve the Arab-Israeli conflict.
The Iraq Study Group acknowledges that Iran may not be interested in entering into a dialogue with the US but believes it should be invited to do so without pre-conditions. The administration has ruled out direct talks until Tehran suspends its uranium enrichment programme but yesterday's report says the nuclear issue should be left to the United Nations to resolve.
White House spokesman Tony Snow yesterday restated the administration's opposition to direct talks but appeared to leave the door open to contacts with Iran in the context of the international support group for Iraq proposed by the report.
The report's most ambitious proposal is for a renewed drive to resolve the Arab-Israeli conflict, leading to the return of the Golan Heights to Syria and the creation of an independent Palestinian state. The Bush administration has shied away from the kind of grand diplomacy attempted in the Middle East by Bill Clinton and has failed to exert pressure on Israel to engage with the Syrians and the Palestinians.
Engaging in the peace process and talking to adversaries such as Iran and Syria would mark such a dramatic break with the administration's foreign policy until now that many commentators in Washington believe it represents a step too far for Mr Bush.
It may be difficult, however, for the president to resist pressure from a growing number of Republicans who have remained loyal until now but fear that anything short of dramatic change in Iraq could doom them to electoral disaster in 2008.