Dec. 6 (Bloomberg) -- The Iraq Study Group recommends the U.S. hold direct talks with Iran and Syria, increase the number of U.S. troops dedicated to training the Iraqi military and end political divisions in Washington to prevent the conflict from disintegrating further, according to the Bush administration.

``There is no magic formula to solve the problems of Iraq,'' the report states, according to White House Press Secretary Tony Snow, reading to reporters from his copy of the commission's findings. ``However, there are actions that can be taken to improve the situation and protect American interests.''

The recommendations of the commission, set up by Congress to assess U.S. strategy, are likely to frame the debate in the coming months about the future course of American involvement in Iraq, a conflict that has lost support of the public. Democrats and some Republicans in Congress are urging the president to begin pulling some troops out of Iraq in the next six months to put pressure on the Iraqis to take responsibility for security.

Some of the recommendations conflict with President George W. Bush's past stances on dealing with Iraq, including bringing Iraq's neighbors into talks about ways quell the sectarian violence that has claimed thousands of Iraqi lives. Bush met this morning with the panel, including the co-chairmen, former Secretary of State James A. Baker III, 76, and former Representative Lee Hamilton, 75. The commission then headed to the Capitol to brief lawmakers.

Iran and Syria

Quoting from the report, Snow said the panel recommends the U.S. ``engage directly with Iran and Syria in order to try to obtain their commitment to constructive policies toward Iraq and other regional issues.''

``In engaging Syria and Iran, the United States should consider incentives as well as disincentives in seeking constructive results,'' the report states, according to Snow.

The report, entitled ``The Way Forward,'' contains 79 recommendations for Bush to consider. It outlines the ``consequences of continued decline'' in Iraq. ``Many Americans are dissatisfied, not just with the situation in Iraq, but with the state of our political debate regarding Iraq,'' the report states, according to Snow.

``There is not a recommendation for immediate withdrawal,'' Snow said. ``There is a recommendation that we do a surge in terms of increasing as rapidly as possible the number of forces working as embeds'' to help train Iraqi forces, Snow said.

``Ultimately the goal is get the Iraqis to assume responsibility and to be able to draw down troops as appropriate, but there are no timetables,'' he said.

Troop Strength

While there wasn't a call for a quick pullout from Iraq, the Washington Post and the Wall Street Journal reported today that the commission recommends withdrawing almost all combat troops from Iraq by 2008, leaving behind thousands of trainers and advisers to work with the Iraqi military.

Bush, after meeting with the commission, said the report ``brings some really very interesting proposals. And we will take every proposal seriously, and we will act in a timely fashion.''

``The country is tired of pure political bickering'' about the war, he said.

Bush has said he won't change his goal of helping build a stable, democratic Iraq. Still, his aides have said the president is ready to make significant adjustments to U.S. strategy in weeks ahead.

Bush has rejected setting a deadline for withdrawing some of the 140,000 U.S. troops now in Iraq and said last week that any notion of a ``graceful exit'' was unrealistic.

Deliberations

During its deliberations the panel met with prominent figures from both major parties, including former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger and former President Bill Clinton.

The final report was agreed to unanimously by the 10-member commission, which plans to tour the country to explain its conclusions.

Bush is awaiting a review of the war being conducted by the Department of Defense, the State Department and the White House National Security Council.

Iraq is in the grip of a sectarian conflict fought mainly between minority Sunni and majority Shiite factions. Thousands of Iraqis have died in recent months. In the most recent violence, at least 17 people were killed and 50 others were wounded in Baghdad today.

Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki announced he is organizing a reconciliation conference this month involving all political parties to resolve sectarian conflict in the country.

To contact the reporters on this story: Brendan Murray at brmurray@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: December 6, 2006 09:26 EST