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Getbig Main Boards => Politics and Political Issues Board => Topic started by: rockyfortune on September 04, 2007, 11:47:14 AM
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Iraq has failed to meet 11 of the 18 benchmarks the U.S. Congress set when it approved a war-spending bill in May, the Government Accountability Office reported Tuesday.
President Bush will give his progress report on Iraq next week, based on information provided by Gen. David Petraeus.
Iraq has met three of the benchmarks and "partially met" four, the GAO said, but the congressional agency was downbeat on the overall progress of the Iraqi government.
"Overall, key legislation has not been passed, violence remains high, and it is unclear whether the Iraqi government will spend $10 billion in reconstruction funds," according to testimony from David M. Walker, comptroller general, to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
But it did offer grounds for hope.
"These results do not diminish the courageous efforts of coalition forces and progress that has been made in several areas, including Anbar Province," Walker said in comments released Tuesday.
Walker also said a goal of reducing sectarian violence was unmet.
"While the Baghdad security plan was intended to reduce sectarian violence, it is unclear whether violence has been reduced," Walker said in prepared testimony. "Measuring such violence may be difficult since the perpetrators' intents are not clearly known. Other measures, such as the number of enemy-initiated attacks, show that violence has remained high through July 2007."
Goals listed as met in the GAO report include:
• Ensuring the rights of minority political parties in the Iraqi legislature are protected.
• Establishing joint security stations in Baghdad neighborhoods.
• Setting up committees to support the Baghdad security plan.
The GAO indicated there were partial successes for enacting legislation to form semiautonomous regions, creating three Iraqi brigades to support Baghdad operations, ensuring that the Iraqi government will not provide a sanctuary for outlaws and spending of $10 billion in reconstruction aid.
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A Defense Department official said the Pentagon argued that more progress has been made on sectarian violence and that it should get a partially met grade, but the GAO marked that goal as unmet.
Walker is scheduled to present the GAO report to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Tuesday.