Rejecting Baker-Hamilton

Josh Marshall makes the point that I was thinking when I read this article about Hezbollah and IRan training the Mahdi army in the NY Times this morning -- it's a Cheney plant:

The truth or falsity of this new intel from the same sources of the reliably bogus intel of recent years, though, seems of secondary interest to the debate that's getting set up. It's a recipe and the argument for staying in Iraq permanently. We can't get out because getting out means coming to an accomodation with Iran and Syria who've already been meddling in Iraq.

That the Bushies seem to be trying to set this thing up in order to head off any recommendations from the Baker-Hamilton Commission was reinforced when I got on the net and read this article reporting that Bush is saying the sectarian strife in Iraq is part of an al-Qaeda plot.

ALLINN, Estonia -President Bush said Tuesday an al-Qaida plot to stoke cycles of sectarian revenge in Iraq is to blame for escalating bloodshed, and refused to debate whether the country has fallen into civil war.

"No question it's tough, no question about it," Bush said at a news conference with Estonian President Toomas Hendrik Ilves. "There's a lot of sectarian violence taking place, fomented in my opinion because of the attacks by al-Qaida causing people to seek reprisal."

It sure looks to me as though Bush has rejected the Baker-Hamilton approach before he even knows what it is. One thing's for sure. We're not going to be talking to Iran or Syria anytime soon.