Crunch Time on Iraq: What Do Troops Think?

Dec. 6, 2006 — -- It's finally crunch time at the White House.

Today, the Iraq Study Group tasked with finding a solution to Iraq is laying out its ideas.

President Bush has been handed a failing grade on the war that defines his presidency and has been offered some unwelcome fixes by former Secretary of State James A. Baker, and former Rep. Lee Hamilton, co-chairmen of the commission on the war in Iraq.

Here are some of the suggestions found in the Iraq Study Group's report, "The Way Forward":

A troop drawdown should start soon, with a goal of all combat troops out of Iraq by the first quarter of 2008.

Syria and Iran should be engaged to help stop the violence.

A Middle East conference that includes all players should be held and could also address the Israeli-Palestinian issue.

The report does not contain an immediate timetable for troop withdrawal, and it has plenty of language leaving that decision up to the commanders on the ground.

Sending a Signal to Iraqis

New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman said he saw up sides and down sides to the report.

"The first thing I would say about all these plans in general is they're either unnecessary or impossible," Friedman said today on "Good Morning America."

"That is, there is a core of Iraqis who want to live together, in which case all these proposals are unnecessary, or there isn't, in which case they're impossible."

But the up side, Friedman said, is that the report could send a signal to Iraqis that they have to take control of the situation themselves.

"In case you haven't noticed, the American people just fired George Bush and they fired him over the question of Iraq," he said. "The signal this report sends is we are leaving one way or another.So we're no longer going to be providing a floor under your civil war."

While the politicians struggle to chart a new course in Iraq, the troops on the ground still have a job to do -- a job that seems to get harder all the time.

"We are definitely caught between sectarian violence," 1st Class Sgt. Brent Paine said to ABC News. "We get put out in between it a lot of times. It's hard to tell who to kinda side with."

Many Troops Just Worry About Getting Out in One Piece

The Iraq Study Group report talks about taking half of the combat troops out by the end of 2007 and leaving 750,000 troops there until the end of 2008.

Paine said that withdrawing thousands of U.S. troops and having those who remain switch from fighting to supporting Iraqi forces "does not make sense."

"We should either be here and be committed to achieving a goal, or get out completely," he said.

Friedman agrees.

"I'm with those troops. … I mean, my argument is it's either 10 months or 10 years," he said.

"Either we conclude nothing is possible and we need to withdraw in 10 months, or we need to rebuild this place from the bottom up," Friedman said.

Some soldiers say they're worried that Iraqi forces are more loyal to their religious group than to their country, and just aren't ready to take control.

"It would put us back even further than we are now," Pfc. Scotty McDonald said. "I don't think they're quite ready. Maybe another year -- if we're lucky."

Still other soldiers say they're not following the debate. They're more concerned with getting themselves and their fellow troops out of Iraq alive.

"My main concern is the welfare of my guys," Sgt. David Hill said.