WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Here are some key recommendations of the bipartisan Iraq Study Group that released its report Wednesday: * The United States should not make an open-ended commitment to keep large numbers of American troops deployed in Iraq. U.S. political, economic and military support for the Iraqi government should be linked to Iraqi progress on national reconciliation, security and governance. * The primary mission of U.S. forces in Iraq should evolve to training and supporting the Iraqi army. There should be a big increase in U.S. forces embedded in and supporting Iraqi Army units. As this proceeds, the United States could start moving forces out of Iraq, getting all combat brigades not needed for force protection out by the first quarter of 2008. * The United States must try to engage all parties in Iraq, with the exception of al Qaeda. The United States must find a way to talk to Shi'ite cleric Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, Shi'ite leader Moqtada al-Sadr, and militia and insurgent leaders. Provincial elections should be held in Iraq soon, and the Iraqi government must signal to Sunnis that there is a place for them in national life. * The United States should launch a comprehensive new diplomatic offensive by year's end to deal with the problems of Iraq and the region. The United States and Iraq should support holding a conference in Baghdad of the Organization of the Islamic Conference or the Arab League. * An Iraq International Support Group should be organized immediately. It should consist of Iraq and all the states bordering Iraq, including Iran and Syria, as well as key regional states, the five U.N. Security Council members and the European Union. * The United States should deal directly with Iran and Syria on Iraq and other regional issues. Dealing with Iran's nuclear program should remain the task of the five members of the U.N. Security Council plus Germany. Syria should control its border with Iraq. * There should be a new U.S. push for a "comprehensive Arab-Israeli peace" including President Bush's 2002 commitment to a two-state solution for Israel and the Palestinians. There should be meetings between Israel, Lebanon and Syria on one hand, and Israel and Palestinians on the other. * The United States should provide more political, economic and military support for Afghanistan, including resources that become available as forces move out of Iraq. * The Bush administration should devote significantly greater intelligence resources to understanding Iraq's violence, because intelligence on Sunni insurgents and Shi'ite militias has fallen short of what U.S. policy makers need. * The U.S. government should help Iraq to hammer out a foreign investment framework that would direct the distribution of oil wealth to Iraqis. President Bush should restate that the United States does not seek to control Iraq's oil. Oil revenues should accrue to the central Iraqi government and be shared on the basis of population.
