Not one benchmark met.
If you've been paying attention this isn't at all a surprise.
But what I think is more important, and thus far seems to be missing from all the coverage, is that there are almost no prospects for any of the benchmarks being met by the end of this year.
A progress report on Iraq will conclude that the U.S.-backed government in Baghdad has not met any of its targets for political, economic and other reform, speeding up the Bush administration's reckoning on what to do next, a U.S. official said Monday.
But what I think is more important, and thus far seems to be missing from all the coverage, is that there are almost no prospects for any of the benchmarks being met by the end of this year.
posted by mikevotes at
9:03 PM
4 Comments:
I remember the January speech in which Bush announced the surge strategy. In it, he reassured Americans that Al-Maliki had an "aggressive plan" that would allow the Iraqi government to take control of all of the provinces by November. The surge was merely to give the government "breathing room" to make the "aggressive plan" work.
Now we are down to trying desperately to secure ONE city (Baghdad) from ONE of the many groups (AQI) doing the killing.
I seems that the "aggressive plan" was to wait and hope everything blows over.
By
Todd Dugdale , at 9:23 PM
It was later euphemized as "breathing space," that US forces would push down violence so that the Iraqis would have the "breathing space" to enact reforms.
It was an overly simplistic interpretation then, and we see the lack of results today.
The violence comes from the sectarian conflict, not the other way around.
I'm hoping somebody does a good take down of that speech in one of tomorrow's papers.
By
mikevotes, at 10:08 PM
"Not one benchmark met." In Bushland this is an obvious sign -- along with increased violence -- the escalation is working!
By
-epm, at 7:36 AM
Read the next post. You're not far off.
By
mikevotes, at 8:09 AM
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