James Baker and Lee Hamilton, co-chairs of the bipartisan Iraq Study Group report, are attempting to spread the word about the full extent of their recommendations, writing in an op-ed in the Houston Chronicle that the ISG report contains 79 “specific and critical steps that the US and Iraqi governments can take to improve the situation.” They write, “No political and security progress can be sustained in Iraq unless the Iraqi people experience improvement in their daily lives.” They point to the “shattered” state of the Iraqi oil industry, which, they say, would “continue to fail” even if Iraq were at peace today because of “a lack of investment and technical capacity, as well as problems of accountability and corruption.” They offer ideas on encouraging oil industry investment, but they also suggest that the US should increase its economic assistance to $5 billion per year to help restore basic services and reduce unemployment. Calling their 79 recommendations, a “comprehensive approach,” they maintain, “We must act with urgency.”
Pentagon Releases Cost of Living, BAH Rates for 2026
Dec. 30, 2025
The Pentagon will pay cost of living allowances to 127,000 service members in the continental U.S. in 2026, an increase of 66,000 members in 2025. Airmen and Guardians across the U.S. will also receive an average increase of 4.2 percent for their Basic Housing Allowance, compared to the 5.4 percent…
