Is there an entirely new "Iraq Strategy" in the birth canal?

I really don't think so, but my brother Richard from Connecticut (who doesn't like commas) suggested I ponder the possibilities of a strategy utilizing negotiation and common sense rather than bullets and bombs -- more in line with what James Baker (upper left) and Lee Hamilton (right) are suggesting to President Bush these days.

On the other hand ...

Pressure is also being put on Mr. Bush from such unexpected quarters as Tony Blair (and others in the European Union) to look for an Iraq strategy that would allow the Middle East to slowly simmer for a while while cooler heads prevail ... rather than boil over into God knows what in the weeks and months ahead.

The "picture" I painted in the title to this posting is perhaps a little too graphic for what could be a stabilizing (and more general) "solution" to the problem if, for example, the Israeli-Palestinian issue could be made to be part of the resolution.

Actually, I see no efforts at so broad a "consensus solution" coming from the Blue Ribbon [sic] commission, but that is exactly what I read and hear coming from Europe. I wonder if the bi-partisan (that is, Democrats and Republicans -- not Tories, Labor, etc.) Baker panel could expand its membership to include a couple of members from the EU and ... gasp ... horrors ... Palestine, Israel, Iran and Iraq too ...

Obviously, this would bring into play such issues as Iran's nuclear program, Israel's treatment of Palestinians (both inside and outside of Israel!) and Hezbollah's de facto "ownership" of Lebanon.

Why not? They are all related and what I see as single-issue solutions have never been found in the past.

I've just put in a very long day (not yet complete) and am thinking rather stream-of-consciousness-like. Sorry. I'll wait until I come out" of the world I'm currently in -- different than anything I've ever experienced. But I do hope that cooler heads will prevail as regards the whole Middle East!!