Progress in Iraq
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Center for American Progress releases new report card on Iraq Last November, a bipartisan majority of 79 Senators voted for a measure declaring 2006 “to be a period of significant transition for Iraq” and called on President Bush to put forward a strategy for “the successful completion of the mission in Iraq.” This mid-term assessment finds some signs of progress in key areas, including Iraq’s political transition, the training of Iraq’s security forces, and oil production. But this limited progress has taken place against the backdrop of a dramatically deteriorating security situation in many parts of the country as Iraq slipped deeper into a civil war. The Center for American Progress (CAP) released a mid-year assessment that aims to fill gaps left unmet by status reports submitted by the Bush administration to Congress and the American public= More than three years after invading Iraq and toppling Saddam Hussein, the costs for America continue to grow – more than 2,500 soldiers killed and 18,000 wounded in action, more than $320 billion of U.S. taxpayer dollars spent, and the growing opportunity costs of insufficient action to address national security threats like Afghanistan, Lebanon, and global terror networks. “Our research and report card finds that the Bush administration’s overall Iraq policies are on the verge of failing,” said CAP Senior Fellow Brian Katulis. “Despite some important achievements like the formation of a new permanent government and the killing of terrorist leader Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi, the Bush administration has not achieved sufficient progress toward making sure 2006 is a period of significant transition. Iraq is slipping closer to an all-out civil war, and reconstruction projects are plagued by corruption and mismanagement.” At this midpoint in the year that was supposed to be the “period of significant transition for Iraq,” the Bush administration has not achieved demonstrable progress to making a transition in the U.S. mission in Iraq. Halfway through 2006, the Bush administration has not yet presented a clear strategy for the successful completion of the mission in Iraq. The administration gets an overall D-. In all key areas, substantial room for improvement exists:
Click here to read the entire report Progress in Iraq: A Mid-Term Report Card on 2006 as the “Period of Significant Transition” (PDF) Date: 7/25/2006 |
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