GAO Report: Only 3 out of 18 Iraq Goals Met

The Washington Post has obtained a draft of the Government Accountability Office’s “progress” report — quite the euphemism in this case — about Iraq. The 69-page draft, which the paper describes as “strikingly negative,” was apparently passed along by a government official worried that the final draft would be altered to lessen its detrimental impact.

Washington Post:

The draft provides a stark assessment of the tactical effects of the current U.S.-led counteroffensive to secure Baghdad. “While the Baghdad security plan was intended to reduce sectarian violence, U.S. agencies differ on whether such violence has been reduced,” it states. While there have been fewer attacks against U.S. forces, it notes, the number of attacks against Iraqi civilians remains unchanged. It also finds that “the capabilities of Iraqi security forces have not improved.”

“Overall,” the report concludes, “key legislation has not been passed, violence remains high, and it is unclear whether the Iraqi government will spend $10 billion in reconstruction funds,” as promised. While it makes no policy recommendations, the draft suggests that future administration assessments “would be more useful” if they backed up their judgments with more details and “provided data on broader measures of violence from all relevant U.S. agencies.”

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