25 June 2008
The Government Accountability Office released a report earlier this week that the Bush administration has given incorrect information to demonstrate economic, political and security progress in Iraq. The US plan for a stable Iraq is falling out of touch with the realities on the ground and contains serious flaws in its operational guidelines. The report does show there has been a 70% decrease in violence since June of 2007. Even with the decrease in violence, a number of the figures that have been used to show broader progress in Iraq are either misleading or incorrect. There are overstated gains in some categories which include the readiness of the Iraqi Army, electricity production and how much money Iraq is spending on its reconstruction. Here is a quote from the report “Iraq remains a mixed bag and will continue to do so in perpetuity.”
The security gains are from the American troop increase and not advances in political and social reconciliation and a functioning Iraqi government. In addition there is an American-led program to pay former insurgents to help keep the peace. There is sharp disagreement between the accountability office and the administration over basic indicators of progress. Where the administration claims that 70 percent of Iraqi units are in the lead in counterinsurgency operations.
In reality only about 10 percent are actually able to function on their own. Lastly American claims that Iraq had spent and committed more than 60 percent of its reconstruction budget in 2007 when instead, the number was 28 percent. Ah well, what can we expect of the Bush administration?
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