Under scrutiny from both parties, Bush may have no choice but to change the course.

“The situation in Iraq is grave and deteriorating.” Those words introduce the executive summary of the Iraq Study Group Report, a report created by a bipartisan team of five Democrats and five Republicans on the current state of affairs in Iraq. The report makes absolutely no attempt to sugarcoat the situation, but rather bluntly and forthrightly addresses key issues in the region, such as the fact that insurgent violence in the region has been quickly escalating (particularly in the last year) and that US troops are stretched beyond their means.

According to the New York Times, the group made 79 recommendations for the war in Iraq, many of which will not be easily stomached by the President. The report, for example, calls for direct negotiations with Syria and Iran, two countries President Bush considers to be within the “axis of evil.”

As a result of such overwhelming opposition to his policies, the President will begin to “chart a new course in the war” next week. He is expected to introduce his “new way forward” by Christmas. It is unclear whether this elusive new plan of action will give the troops and their families what they really want for the holidays—a war with some end in sight and the possibility of returning home—but it seems as though President Bush has no choice but to heed the requests of the Iraq Study Group, the United States’ military, Congress, and the citizens of both America and Iraq—all of whom have become disillusioned with the war.