Russ Feingold: “this past Wednesday, Washington felt a little like Hollywood. In fact, not many blockbuster movies have gotten the kind…”

“this past Wednesday, Washington felt a little like Hollywood. In fact, not many blockbuster movies have gotten the kind of massive press and critical acclaim that we saw yesterday for the release of the Iraq Study Group report. Official Washington rushed to embrace the report--understandably, since it reflected the same flawed mindset that led so many here to embrace the war in Iraq 4 years ago. Unfortunately, that same mindset is now what is keeping too many here from fixing an Iraq policy that many now agree is badly flawed. The administration still believes that Iraq is the be-all and end-all of our national security. So, too, does most of Washington. Unfortunately, the Iraq Study Group report does too little to change that flawed mind-set. I respect the serious efforts of the group to correct the administration's misguided policies, and the report has some valuable ideas. But the very name, the 'Iraq Study Group' says it all. We need recommendations on how to address Iraq, but those recommendations must be guided by our top national security priority-- defeating terrorist networks operating in dozens of countries around the world. We can't just look at Iraq in isolation--we need to also be looking at Somalia and Afghanistan and the many other places around the world where we face grave and growing threats. The report doesn't adequately put Iraq in the context of a broader national security strategy.”