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Media Information |
 Hamilton to help lead congressional study group on IraqFormer congressman says there has been no real oversight of Bush administrationby Andy Graham331-4346 | agraham@heraldt.com March 29, 2006 The choices aren't very good." That was former U.S. Rep. Lee Hamilton's assessment Tuesday morning on what the United States should do in regard to Iraq. "The president says 'Stay the course,' others say 'get out now,' and still others say, 'muddle through,'" Hamilton said during a town hall meeting at Ivy Tech Community College in Bloomington. "Whether or not you agree with the decision to go to war in Iraq, or with how the war has been conducted, the fact is that we are there and the question is 'What should we do now?'" Hamilton, Indiana's 9th District Congressman for 34 years before retiring in 1998, will co-chair an Iraq Study Group to explore that daunting question at the behest of Congress. "We'll convene in April," Hamilton said during an interview after his Ivy Tech talk. "We don't want to set a date for issuing our recommendations. There is obvious urgency, but it's a big mountain to climb. "You just sense, everywhere you go, the real frustration regarding the war felt by the American people - and American politicians, too." It was a bipartisan group of politicians in Congress which announced formation of the 10-member Iraq Study Group in mid-March. Joining Hamilton as a co-chairman is former Secretary of State Jim Baker. "The first thing we'll do is make a detailed assessment of the political reality, the economic reality, the security realities and the regional situation," Hamilton said. "We're appointing four task forces specific to those topics, with eight or 10 experts apiece. We'll also be advised by a group of four-star generals." Hamilton said the study group hopes to visit Iraq for first-hand observations and feedback. "I think it's likely we'll go to Iraq," he said, "though we're still looking at the mechanics of that." Hamilton said the study group arose from a congressional initiative, but is truly independent. "Neither the White House nor the Congress are going to be telling us what to do," he said. But Hamilton, who directs the Center on Congress at Indiana University, has some suggestions for what Congress should be doing. "Congress needs to assert itself more," he said. "It's been dormant. Timid. That trend goes back a ways, but it's been accentuated in recent years. "There has been no real congressional oversight of President Bush's administration. The rational and run-up to the Iraq war, the conduct of the war, surveillance issues, detainees - some of these things have prompted some very difficult constitutional problems, but I've been very disappointed in Congress's performance in that regard." Iraq study group Former Indiana Congressman Lee Hamilton will co-chair an Iraq Study Group to make recommendations concerning U.S. policy in Iraq. The group features five Democrats and five Republicans. Democrats joining Hamilton on the study group are Clinton administration adviser Vernon Jordan, former Defense Secretary William Perry, Clinton chief of staff Leon Panetta and former Sen. Chuck Robb. Republicans in addition to former Secretary of State and group co-chair Jim Baker are former Sen. Alan Simpson, retired Supreme County Associate Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani and former CIA director Robert Gates. |