Iraq’s Government: One Year, Still No Progress

“Iraqis now have a fully constitutional government, marking the end of a democratic transitional process in Iraq that has been both difficult and inspiring. This broadly representative unity government offers a new opportunity for progress in Iraq” – President Bush, 5/20/06

May 20th marks the one-year anniversary of the formation of the Maliki government. Since that time, there has not been sufficient progress on any of the key political benchmarks that are necessary to bring stability to Iraq. In the meantime, nearly 950 American troops have been killed and close to 7,000 have been wounded, while American taxpayers have spent more than $120 billion. The current approach is not working and America cannot continue to invest in a failing government. What is needed is a responsible redeployment plan that puts a greater sense of urgency into the Iraqi political process and forces the Iraqis to step up and make the difficult compromises necessary to bring about a political solution.

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This article was originally published in Center for American Progress Action Fund.