Iraq Study Group

The Iraq Study Group, according to its website,

is a bipartisan group of prominent Americans supported by four premier institutions. It is led by co-chairs James A. Baker, III, the nation’s 61st Secretary of State and Honorary Chairman of the James A. Baker III Institute for Public Policy at Rice University, and Lee H. Hamilton, former Congressman and Director of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars.

The other members of the study group include: Lawrence S. Eagleburger, Vernon E. Jordan, Jr., Edwin Meese III , Sandra Day O'Connor, Leon E. Panetta, William J. Perry, Charles S. Robb, and Alan K. Simpson.

The Iraq Study Group is connected with something called the "United States Institute of Peace".

Wikipedia: 'The Iraq Study Group (ISG), also known as the Baker-Hamilton Commission, or simply the Baker Commission, is a ten-person panel appointed on March 15, 2006, by the United States Congress, that is charged with delivering an independent assessment of the situation in Iraq and the US-led Iraq War. It was first proposed by Virginia Republican Representative Frank Wolf. The panel has no direct authority to change Iraq policy, but will make policy recommendations.'

As reported by Wikipedia, the members of the Iraq Study Group are as follows:

The ISG is led by co-chairs James Baker, a former Secretary of State (Republican) and Lee Hamilton (Democrat), a former U.S. Representative and the vice chair of the 9/11 Commission. It is composed of four additional Republicans and four additional Democrats.

Republicans
In addition to Baker, the panel's Republicans are:
Sandra Day O'Connor, former Supreme Court Justice
Lawrence Eagleburger, former Secretary of State
Edwin Meese III, former US Attorney General
Alan K. Simpson, former Wyoming Senator
Former New York City mayor Rudolph Giuliani was originally a member but resigned on May 24, 2006, stating in a letter to co-chair Baker "my previous time commitments do not permit me the full and active participation that the Iraq Study Group deserves." He was replaced by Meese.
Former Director of Central Intelligence Robert M. Gates was also a member of the panel until he was replaced by Lawrence Eagleburger on November 10, 2006. Gates resigned because he was nominated by President George W. Bush as US Secretary of Defense on 8 November 2006, replacing Donald Rumsfeld.

Democrats
In addition to Hamilton, the panel's Democrats are:
Vernon Jordan, Jr., business executive
Leon E. Panetta, former White House Chief of Staff
William J. Perry, former US Secretary of Defense
Charles S. Robb, former Governor of Virginia and former U.S. Senator

Austin Bay believes the Iraq Study Group is a face-saving strategy for the Democrats:

The Baker-Hamilton study group will not produce any new thinking. The U.S. military has analyzed and gamed every course of action, including cut and run. For that matter, it gamed “non-intervention” in Iraq as well.

What Baker and Hamilton provide is political cover for Democrats. Our plan has been a sound one — build Iraqi security and political institutions to the point US and coalition forces move to “strategic overwatch.” ...

Which is where Baker-Hamilton comes in. Baker-Hamilton is an academic committee. I guarantee the John Kerry-level strategic geniuses who participated in the study have radcially differing views of the issues, different definitions of problems, and a spectrum of mutually-incoherent policy prescriptions. (Like I said, it’s an academic committee.) My bet is the Baker-Hamilton “consensus” will ultimately reflect Jim Baker’s and Lee Hamilton’s two-man consensus (in other words, truth in packaging unusual in government and academia).

If we are lucky, the Baker-Hamilton magic show will drop a scarf over the top hat and with a the ”poof” of a New York Times headline produce a “unifying” policy of words that will let the Democrats join the war, despite the howls of their blogosphere nutsroots.

Read the full post at the link.

The Iraq Study Group is suspected by Gateway Pundit of being infiltrated by agents of the islamist regime in Iran - the same Tehran regime that's killing innocent Iraqis and American soldiers daily.

Now, there are concerns that a group of highly placed Iranian Regime lobbyist/agents, so called "Iranian experts", have peddled bad information into the Iraq Study Group hoping to shape the upcoming recommendations by that group.

A couple of names of known Iranian sympathizers who may be shaping the opinion of the Iraq Study Group are Houshang Amir Ahmadi and Hamid Dabashi.

Professor Daniel M. Zucker wrote at Iran Terror Database about the very sophisticated disinformation campaign dished out by the Iranian Ministry of Intelligence and Security.

The mullahs have fooled Jimmy Carter and other democrats before and they are fooling them again now says Zucker. Hasn't Carter done enough in creating militant Islam? When is the left ever going to learn? Why do we have to pay for their ignorance and cluelessness?

Gateway Pundit isn't alone: this post at the Free Iran News Forum declares: "Has Iran Infiltrated the Baker "Iraq Study Group"? The answer is YES!"

Now Gateway Pundit has more concerns about the Iranian regime influencing the Baker Iraq Study Group:

Another Iranian Human Rights Activist writes in demanding that the Iraq Study Group release the names of the Iranians they are interviewing for their report:

We must publicize this by putting enough pressure on the Baker Iraq Study Group to reveal the names of all of their so-called Iranian-experts. Trust me, there are many Iranian activists who know much more about such Iranian characters than many Americans do and we are here to help.

Unless, America clearly knows who, among the so-called "Iranian experts", has influenced the Baker Commission, I have no doubt that she will be making her greatest mistake to accept ISG's recommendations. Baker Commission must announce the names of Iranians who have helped/influenced ISG's recommendations. America needs to also trust her ordinary loyal Iranian-American citizens who have a better understanding about the so-called "Iranian-experts" and tell America which one is an Iranian regime sympathizer.

I bet, for example, very few Americans may know that Hooshang Amirahmadi was also a candidate for Iranian Presidency in 2005. Aftab News on May 11, 2005, while announcing Hooshang Amirahmadi's candidacy for Islamic Regime's presidency, stated (translated from Farsi):

Amirahmadi believes that there is no reason for his disqualification, because he is a patriotic Iranian and he has never acted against the Islamic Republic and he has never been a member of any group or faction.

Gateway Pundit concludes:

If Mr. Amirahmadi is indeed working with the Iraq Study Group, one must ask: will he use them as tools? He did not need to brownnose the Islamic regime in Aftab News or Baztab News; no one could ever mistake him with an opposition member to Islamic Regime. With pictures (such as those posted here), where he is with Javad Zarif and Mullah Kahrubi, he can not possibly qualify to be an honorable opposition member.

Winston at The Spirit of Man weighs in. A commenter adds, "I hate this. I pray Bush does not take any of this crapola 'advice'. No wonder it says to have Iran help make peace where Iran is the cause of the unrest!"

I'll post any further information I find on the Baker Iraq Study Group.