Anthony Cordesman: U.S. Bull in Iraqi China Shop

Tweet As the year drew to a close, the commission released its recommendations: more regional diplomacy, shifting the U.S. military role from combat to training, and pressing the Iraqi factions to compromise on the nation's future.

But the commission offered no solution to the core problem -- the absence of a genuine political agreement among Iraq's sectarian and ethnic factions.

Instead, the country is locked in a bitter struggle for power as all sides try to ensure a strong position for the day when the Americans go home. The Baker commission recommended that the U.S. reduce economic and military aid if the Iraqis can't reach such an agreement.

''The U.S. effectively sent a bull in to liberate the china shop,'' former Pentagon analyst Anthony Cordesman said. ''And the study group now called upon the U.S. to threaten to remove the bull if the shop doesn't fix the china.''