Reading Comprehension Questions:

1. Why is Iraq in the news right now?

2. To which political parties do the Iraq Study Group members belong?

3. What did President Bush say he would do after he received the Iraq Study Group's report?

4. Name the leaders of the Iraq Study Group and other members on the commission.

5. Who did the Iraq Study Group interview?

6. What was the study group's first recommendation?

7. Why is the first recommendation problematic for the U.S. government?

8. What did the study group suggest for U.S. troops?

9. Which groups are preparing another review of Iraq for the president?

Discussion Activity (more research might be needed):

1. If you were a presidential adviser on Iraq strategy, what would you recommend to the president? Explain why your strategy would be more effective than an alternative. And, if you suggest a troop withdrawal, when should troops withdraw? If you suggest diplomacy, which countries should you invite and where should you meet?

2. Defense secretary nominee Robert Gates told a Senate committee that the United States is neither winning nor losing the Iraq War.
Gates said, "Our military forces win the battles that they fight; our soldiers have done an incredible job in Iraq. And I'm not aware of a single battle that they have lost."
How should the administration decide whether a military action is a success or not? Do you think the war has been a success?

3. What military conflicts have you studied recently? What are similarities and differences between those conflicts and the situation in Iraq?

4. Research one of the following commissions: the Tower Commission, the 9/11 Commission, the Warren Commission, or the Rogers Commission. What event(s) lead to the commission's formation? What was the commission's mandate? What did the commission recommend? Were the recommendations followed or ignored? What might have happened if the recommendations were followed or ignored?

Write a 300-500 word essay on any of these topics providing clear examples. Send your completed editorial to NewsHour Extra (extra@newshour.org). Exceptional essays might be published on our Web site.