Hamilton's Iraq Study Group Delivers Bold Report
Lee H. Hamilton, an active Indiana Law alumnus, served as vice chair of the 9-11
Commission and for more than three decades in Congress. Now, as co-chair of the Iraq
Study Group, Hamilton's legacy takes on historical consequence with the Dec. 6 release
of the bipartisan committee's bold report.
Hamilton and former U.S. Secretary of State James Baker served as co-chairmen of the eight-month review, which involved a four-day visit to Iraq and consultations with more than 170 government and non-government parties and working groups.
The independent group's recommendation to the administration: withdraw U.S. combat forces responsibly. "The current approach is not working, and the ability of the United States to influence events is diminishing," Hamilton said in a report from the Associated Press, "Many Americans are understandably dissatisfied. Our ship of state has hit rough waters. It must now chart a new way forward."
A New York Times article called Hamilton, "a compromiser who operates above the partisan fray." In the piece, Leon E. Panetta, a Democratic member of the group, noted, "At a time when foreign policy issues are part of the partisan trench warfare of Washington, there aren't many people who can rise above it, but Lee is one of them."
About Lee H. Hamilton
Lee Herbert Hamilton, JD'56, directs the Center on Congress at IU in Bloomington and the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington, D.C. Hamilton served on the President's Homeland Security Advisory Council, was vice chair of the 9-11 Commission, and served for 34 years in Congress representing Indiana's Ninth District. He also spent time as chair and ranking member of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs and chaired the Subcommittee on Europe and Middle Eastern Affairs.
A graduate of DePauw University and Indiana University School of Law—Bloomington, as well as the recipient of numerous honorary degrees and national awards for public service, Hamilton practiced law in Chicago and Columbus, Ind., prior to his work in Washington.