Friday, September 07, 2007

 

A summary of recent reports on the Iraq war

Reports
(AP) - Findings and recommendations by recent studies on the Iraq war:
The Independent Commission on the Security Forces of Iraq, chaired by retired Marine Corps Gen. James Jones, released Sept. 6:
-Iraq's security forces will be unable to assume control of the country without U.S. help in the next 12 to 18 months.
-Reduction of U.S. forces and handing off combat mission to Iraqis is "possible and prudent," and changes could begin in early 2008.
-The national police force is rife with corruption and infiltrated by militia forces and should be disbanded.
-An adequate logistics system to support the Iraqi army is at least two years away.
-On the Web:
http://www.csis.org
The Government Accountability Office progress report on Iraq, released Sept. 4:
-Of its 18 stated political and security goals, Iraq failed to meet 11 of them with the least progress made on the political front.
-Iraq fully met three of the 18 goals: establishing joint security stations in Baghdad, ensuring minority rights in the Iraqi legislature and creating support committees for the Baghdad security plan.
-Violence remains high, and it is unclear whether sectarian-fueled attacks has decreased because it is too difficult to prove intent.
-The number of Iraqi security forces capable of conducting independent operations has declined, and militias remain armed.
-On the Web:
http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d071195.pdf
White House progress report on Iraq, dated July 12:
-Of its 18 stated political and security goals, Iraq has made satisfactory progress on eight of them, including eliminating safe havens for outlaws and deploying three trained brigades to Baghdad.
-Judges Iraq has made unsatisfactory progress on nine benchmarks, including increasing the number of Iraqi security forces able to operate independently and passing major legislation believed critical to calming sectarian feuds.
-Judges that it is too early to judge Iraq's progress on two benchmarks: enacting amnesty legislation and establishing a program to disarm militias.
-On the Web:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/nsc/iraq/2007/FinalBenchmarkReport.pdf
The National Intelligence Estimate on Iraq, released Aug. 23:
-Represented the most authoritative written judgments of all 16 spy agencies, with the Central Intelligence Agency and Defense Intelligence Agency as key contributors.
-Determined that the Iraqi government is strained by rampant violence, deep sectarian differences among its political parties and stymied leadership.
-Found Iraq's neighbors will continue to try to expand their leverage in the fractured state in anticipation that the U.S. will soon leave.
-Noted some security progress but elusive hopes for reconciliation among Iraq's feuding groups.

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