Baker Report May Call for Talks with Iran

Rumors abound today that the new report to be released by the Iraq Study Group weeks after the November 7 election will include a recommendation for the US to talk directly both to Iran and Syria. The notion of “talking” to “evil” will definitely seem like a far-fetched idea to the Bush administration, but clearly existing policies are not working on a number of issues that relate to Iran – from Iran’s support for sectarian violence in Iraq, to its nuclear program to its support for terrorist organizations such as .

The Iraq Study Group is being chaired by long-time Bush family friend and former Secretary of State James Baker and co-chaired by former Democratic Rep. Lee Hamilton. Hamilton stressed though that the recommendations have not yet been written.

Baker, who has a long history of trying to help the Bush family out of tight spots, has signaled that he believes a change in course is necessary in Iraq. If that is true, then this is the perfect face-saving opportunity for the Administration to not only change course in Iraq, but also in regards to its policies toward Iran.