Stage Set for Iraq Policy Shift

Democratic control of the House and possibly the Senate, combined with the resignation of Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld, has set the stage for a dramatic shift in the Bush administration's policy toward the Iraq war, lawmakers and experts said. The contours of a new policy are not clear, but there is likely to be more pressure on the Iraqi government to rein in sectarian violence and a growing clamor from Democrats to begin a drawdown of U.S. troops.

Rumsfeld is slated to be replaced by Robert M. Gates, a member of the bipartisan Iraq Study Group who has spent recent weeks learning the problems of the administration's current approach. Unlike Rumsfeld, who was widely seen as a roadblock to a shift in strategy, Gates is expected to be much more receptive to implementing the group's recommendations, due to be made public about Dec. 7.

Iraqi President Jalal Talabani, left, met with Iraq Study Group co-chairmen James A. Baker III and Lee Hamilton in Baghdad in August. The group's report is to be issued in December. (By Daniel Berehulak -- Getty Images) Special Report Washington Post stories and multimedia reports about Iraq, Afghanistan, the War on Terror and more. • Faces of the Fallen • Veterans: In Their Own Words • Afghan Reconstruction » FULL COVERAGE Save & Share Article What's This? Digg