LONDON, Oct 18: Former US secretary of state James Baker was visibly shocked when he last visited Iraq, and said the country was in a ‘helluva mess’, the BBC reported on Tuesday.

Mr Baker is leading a review of the situation in Iraq by a bipartisan US committee of experts, and is expected to recommend a change in US strategy for rebuilding Iraq.

Citing an unnamed close friend and ally of Mr Baker’s, himself a top politician, the BBC said that Mr Baker added ‘there simply weren’t any easy solutions’. James Baker was secretary of state to President George Bush’s father, president George H. W. Bush.

Citing unnamed members of Mr Baker’s committee, The Los Angeles Times on Monday said that two options under consideration would represent reversals of US policy: withdrawing American troops in phases, and bringing Iran and Syria into a joint effort to stop the fighting.

The BBC also reported that a third possibility was under consideration — to concentrate on getting stability in Iraq, and stop aiming to establish a democracy there. The 10-member commission has agreed that change must be made, the Times report said.

“It’s not going to be ‘stay the course,’” the paper quoted one participant as saying. “The bottom line is, (current policy) isn’t working. There’s got to be another way.”—AFP