The panel also called for linking the Iraq War to broader peace efforts in the Middle East. The Iraq Study Group recommended opening talks with Iran and Syria, launching a new peace effort in the Israel-Palestine conflict and pressuring the Israeli government to return the Syrian Golan Heights. The panel also called for increasing pressure on the Iraqi government — including the threat of cutting aid.

Former congressmember and Iraq Study Group co-chair Lee Hamilton: “If the Iraqi government does not make substantial progress toward the achievement of milestones, the United States then should reduce its political, military or economic support to the Iraqi government.”