Rusted Sky

Obama's finding it hard to ignore. Expect a 180 on Iraq within the next couple of weeks.

New Iraq report: 15 of 18 benchmarks satisfactory

WASHINGTON (AP) - No matter who is elected president in November, his foreign policy team will have to deal with one of the most frustrating realities in Iraq: the slow pace with which the government in Baghdad operates.

Iraq's political and military success is considered vital to U.S. interests, whether troops stay or go. And while the Iraqi government has made measurable progress in recent months, the pace at which it's done so has been achingly slow.

The White House sees the progress in a particularly positive light, declaring in a new assessment to Congress that Iraq's efforts on 15 of 18 benchmarks are "satisfactory"—almost twice of what it determined to be the case a year ago. The May 2008 report card, obtained by the Associated Press, determines that only two of the benchmarks—enacting and implementing laws to disarm militias and distribute oil revenues—are unsatisfactory.

Hindsight is always 20-20. There were a number of mistakes made in the early days after Saddam's fall - one of the biggest being installing Paul Bremer into the position of controlling the country. He had a very poor view of the Iraqis, and saw no reason to attempt a quick transfer of power to a provisional government. I believe (and I'll probaby get his book to better determine whether I'm right) that he went in with the intention of making his job as pretty much 'king' of Iraq a long-term one. The President wanted a fast transfer - within a couple of months. Bremer dragged it out to about 14.

Sigh. Nothing says 'liberation' like a quick handover of power to the locals. Nothing says 'occupation' like a slow one. I'd estimate that we'd be out of Iraq at this point if Bush's original plans hadn't been ignored by the State Department...

But, as I said, that's 20-20 hindsight.

We're past the tipping point on Iraq, I think. Barring a suicidal nose-dive by the Democrats or Iran, it's going to make it as a modern, secular state. The Iraqi people have been to the edge of the abyss - and have stepped firmly back.

J.