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My, what an encouraging report card

Benchmark GAO assessment Status
  1. Forming a Consitutional Review Committee and completing the consitutional review.
Committee formed but amendments not approved by the Iraqi legislature and no referendum scheduled.
  1. Enacting and implementing legislation on de-Baathification.
Laws drafted.
  1. Enacting and implementing legislation to ensure the equitable distribution of hydrocarbon resources of the people of Iraq without regard to the section or ethnicity of recipients, and enacting and implementing legislation to ensure that the energy resources of Iraq benefit Sunni Arabs, Shia Arabs, Kurds, and other Iraqi citizens in an equitable manner.
3 of 4 components drafted; none being considered by parliament.
  1. Enacting and implementing legislation on procedures to form semi-autonomous regions.
Law enacted; implementation scheduled for 2008.
  1. Enacting and implementing legislations establishing an Independed High Electoral Commission, provincial elections law, provincial council authorities, and a date for provincial elections.
Commission law enacted and implemented; however, supporting laws not enacted.
  1. Enacting and implementing legislation addressing amnesty.
No law drafted.
  1. Enacting and implementing legislation establishing a strong militia disarmament program to ensure that such security forces are accountable only to the central government and loyal to the Constitution of Iraq.
No law drafted.
  1. Establishing supporting political, media, economic, and services committees in support of the Baghdad security plan.
Committees established.
  1. Providing three trained and ready brigades to support Baghdad operations.
Forces provided; some of limited effectiveness.
  1. Providing Iraqi commanders with all authorities to execute this plan and to make tactical and operational decisions, in consultation with U.S. commanders, without political intervention, to include the authority to pursue all extremists, including Sunni insurgents and Shiite militias.
Political intervention continues.
  1. Ensuring that Iraqi security forces are providing even-handed enforcement of the law.
Iraqi security forces engaged in sectarian-based abuses.
  1. Ensuring that, according to "President" B*sh, Prime Minister Maliki said "the Baghdad security plan will not provide a safe haven for any outlaws, regardless of [their] sectarian or political affiliation."
Militia infiltration of some security forces enables some safe havens.
  1. Reducing the level of sectarian violence in Iraq and eliminating militia control of local security.
Militias control some local security; unclear whether sectarian violence has decreased.
  1. Establishing all of the planned joint security stations in neighborhoods across Baghdad.
32 of 34 stations established.
  1. Increasing the number of Iraqi security forces units capable of operating independently.
Number of independent units declined between March and July 2007.
  1. Ensuring that the rights of minority political parties in the Iraqi legislature are protected.
Legislator's rights protected; minority citizens' rights unprotected.
  1. Allocating and spending $10 billion in Iraqi revenues for reconstruction projects, including delivery of essential services, on an equitable basis.
Funds allocated but unlikely to be fully spent.
  1. Ensuring that Iraq's political authorities are not undermining or making false accusations against members of the Iraqi security forces.
Unsubstatiated accusations continue to be made.

The one thing I can't but help but notice about this report from the GAO is that even the things that the occupation government has "accomplished" aren't very much of anything. They've established committees and made sure that the rights of the members of the occupation government are safe, neither of which are actual activities that actually involve doing anything more than providing checklist items to make a total and complete disaster look pretty.

I suppose it is something that the occupation government has arranged to have Iraqi nationals in the "joint security stations" in Baghdad. I'd be more confident that this means something if not for the steady stream of reports claiming that the Iraqi nationals regularly allow suicide bombers to pass by their checkpoints and detonate against the US troops who are using them as shields. But in any case that's it for "accomplishments" from the latest Friedman in our illegal unprovoked aggressive war against Iraq.

And, to make matters worse, this damning report will be completely ignored by the so-called congressional governing party, which will -- if the last 10 months are any indication -- trample each other in their hurry to endorse the NEXT Friedman's worth of atrocities coming from the near east. After all, you wouldn't want to be beaten up by those 30 second attack ads while there are other unprovoked aggressive wars still to be lost.

(link to the GAO report via Think Progress, via Atrios)

—orc Tue Sep 4 15:47:37 2007