In this election season, President Bush and many of his political allies have portrayed U.S. options in Iraq as a choice between "stay the course" and "cut and run." But as former Secretary of State James Baker recently pointed out, there's plenty of room between those two options for a new strategy.

It's becoming increasingly clear that a new strategy is needed.

With more than 68 U.S. troops killed in Iraq so far this month, October is on track to be the worst month for U.S. fatalities since January 2005. Deaths among Iraqis have risen to about 100 a day — the bulk attributable to a surge in sectarian killings. Violence has spiked despite 142,000 U.S. troops in Iraq — close to the highest level since the invasion — and 300,000 Iraqi security forces.

It's not only Bush's Democratic critics sounding the alarm. Some friendly Senate Republicans, including John Warner of Virginia and Kay Bailey Hutchison of Texas, have warned of the deteriorating situation in Iraq.

Baker is leading a commission, created by Congress and backed by the president, to study U.S. options. Its bipartisan makeup is welcome in what has been too politicized a debate. Its recommendations are due after Election Day, when they are less likely to be viewed through a partisan prism.

The commission reportedly is considering a broad range of alternatives. One would call for reaching out to Iran and Syria to help stabilize Iraq. Another would dictate a gradual withdrawal of U.S. troops to bases just outside Iraq, where they could mount attacks against any terrorists in the region. In interviews, Mr. Baker dismissed the idea of partitioning Iraq among Sunnis, Shiites and Kurds. But at this point, all options should be on the table.

The U.S. strategy to now has stressed training Iraqi forces to gradually take over responsibility for security in their country. Recent events in the city of Balad suggest that strategy has serious shortcomings. U.S. forces handed control of the province that includes Balad to the Iraqi army last month. The Americans had to return to the city this week after the Iraqis were unable to stop a wave of revenge killings.

The United States has invested thousands of lives and hundreds of billions of dollars into its worthy goal of establishing a free and secure Iraq. Stubbornly sticking to a flawed strategy would sacrifice more blood and treasure without meeting that goal.

But a precipitous withdrawal of U.S. troops could allow Iraq to collapse into a full-blown civil war. Such a conflict could leave terrorists in charge of some or all of the country and its huge oil reserves.

Ideally, Baker's commission will come up with viable alternatives between standing pat and giving up.

The president and Congress will need to take a good look at whatever the panel recommends.