Lee Hamilton could be forgiven for feeling a measure of smug satisfaction. Eight months after he saw his Iraq Study Group report \u201d\u201c a bipartisan prescription to end the Iraq war \u201d\u201c rejected by the White House and both parties on Capitol Hill, its recommendations are now being embraced across Washington.<\/p>\n
But Mr Hamilton, the Democratic co-chairman of the commission, is a deeply worried man. Just as the group\u2019s plan for a phased withdrawal of US troops receives the political consensus and respect its authors sought eight months and nearly 20,000 deaths ago, it faces failure again: this time victim of a gridlocked Congress and a President still powerful enough to run the war without constraint.<\/p>\n
\u201cTime is running out,\u201d\u009d he said of the chance for a deal between Republicans and Democrats that could force Mr Bush\u2019s hand. Speaking to The Times, Mr Hamilton added: \u201cIt\u2019s very, very tough to turn a president around if he\u2019s stubborn enough. The Iraq Study Group is the only bipartisan report that charts a responsible exit. But the President can hold it off through most of his term.\u201d\u009d<\/p>\n