Iraqis’ Progress Lags Behind Pace Set by Bush Plan

[rodeodance]

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/15/washington/15policy.html?hp=&pagewanted=print

March 15, 2007
Iraqis’ Progress Lags Behind Pace Set by Bush Plan
By HELENE COOPER and DAVID E. SANGER

WASHINGTON, March 14 — The Bush administration, which six months ago issued a series of political goals for the Iraqi government to meet by this month, is now tacitly acknowledging that the goals will take significantly longer to achieve.

In interviews this week, administration officials said that the military buildup intended to stabilize Baghdad and create the conditions for achieving the objectives would not be fully in place until June and that all of the objectives would not be fulfilled until the year’s end.

A “notional political timeline” that the administration provided to Congress in January in an attachment to a letter from Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to Senator Carl Levin, chairman of the Armed Services Committee, had called for most of the objectives to be met by this month.

Four of the significant objectives are final approval of an oil law regulating distribution of oil revenues and foreign investment in the oil industry; reversal of the de-Baathification laws that are widely blamed for alienating Sunnis by driving them out of government ministries; the holding of local elections; and reform of Iraq’s Constitution...............

[maddezmom]

1. LAT: Iraqi forces backslide on lead role

Iraqi forces backslide on lead role
They began taking over greater responsibilities from U.S. troops last year, but the trend has reversed, the Pentagon says.
By Julian E. Barnes and Alexandra Zavis, Times Staff Writers
March 15, 2007


WASHINGTON — Iraqi forces began taking a back seat in combat operations in Iraq last autumn, even before President Bush started deploying 21,500 more troops chiefly to spearhead a security crackdown in Baghdad, according to a new Pentagon report.

The report shows that Iraqi military units began assuming greater responsibility for operations in the earlier part of last year. But the trend has reversed. In October, U.S. forces were conducting 8% of the combat operations, while 72% were joint missions. By January, U.S. units were conducting 33% of the operations, and the percentage of joint operations had fallen to 59%.

In addition, the number of Iraqi army and other units in the lead has declined to 92 in February from 94 in November, while the number of U.S.-led missions has been increasing.

more:http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-na-iraq15mar15,1,4045153.story?track=rss

[Nickster]

2. Moving those goal posts again. Remember when they said there would be

consequences for not meeting certain goals? Now it's just that they need more time. Maybe another 6 months will do it!