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The bipartisan Iraq Study Group on Wednesday urged stepped-up diplomatic and political efforts to stabilize Iraq, coupled with a shift in the mission of U.S. forces to allow the United States to “begin to move its combat forces out of Iraq responsibly.”

Troop withdrawal

1. Announce a plan for American forces to begin pulling back, whether the Iraqis are ready or not, to signal to the Iraqis that Washington will not endlessly prop up the Iraqi government with its military.

2. Gradually pull back the 15 American combat brigades now in Iraq, starting next year and ending by the first quarter of 2008. Afterward, American combat forces could be deployed “only in units embedded with Iraqi forces.” While numbers are still approximate, phased withdrawal of combat troops over the next year would leave 70,000 to 80,000 American troops in the country, compared with about 150,000 now, for a long time to come.

3. Special-operations forces would remain to battle al-Qaeda in Iraq.

4. Link American withdrawal to the performance of the Iraqi military, leaving open the possibility that U.S. troops would stay longer if the Iraqi government takes on the militias, but threatening accelerated withdrawal if the Iraqi government fails to act decisively and control the violence.

5. Significantly increase the number of American military personnel supporting and embedded with Iraqi troops. As this proceeds, U.S. combat forces can begin leaving Iraq.

6. “The Iraqi government should accelerate assuming responsibility for Iraqi security by increasing the number and quality of Iraqi Army Brigades.”

Diplomacy

The United States should:

1. Begin a new diplomatic offensive to build an international consensus for stability in Iraq and the region. The effort should include every country that has an interest in avoiding a chaotic Iraq, including all of Iraq’s neighbors.

2. Try to engage Iran and Syria constructively, using incentives and disincentives.

3. Renew commitment to a comprehensive Arab- Israeli peace process, including President Bush’s commitment to a two-state solution for Israel and Palestine.

Iran should:

1. Stem the flow of arms and training to Iraq.

2. Respect Iraq’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.

3. Use its influence over Iraqi Shiite groups to encourage national reconciliation.

Syria should:

1. Control its border with Iraq to stem the flow of funding, insurgents and terrorists in and out of Iraq.

International efforts:

1. The issue of Iran’s nuclear arms should be dealt with by the five members of the U.N. Security Council and Germany.

2. A possible regional conference on Iraq or broader Middle East peace issues.

What the Bush administration has said

President Bush:

Told Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki last week that “this business about graceful exit just simply has no realism to it.” Administration officials said Bush is likely to embrace the suggestion of embedding more American trainers in Iraqi units.

Has rejected contacts with Iran and Syria until now. Senior administration officials, including Stephen Hadley, the president’s national security adviser, have expressed skepticism that either of those countries would go along. “Talking isn’t a strategy,” Hadley said in an interview in October. “The issue is how can we condition the environment so that Iran and Syria will make a 180-degree turn, so that rather than undermining the Iraqi government, they will support it.”

Other voices:

Sen. Carl Levin:

Democrat of Michigan and the next chairman of the Armed Services Committee, also has proposed a phased withdrawal of American troops but within four to six months. He also has advocated putting more pressure on the Iraqis to take responsibility for their own security, saying that the responsibility for Iraq’s future squarely belongs to the Iraqis and that America “cannot save the Iraqis from themselves.”