U.S. agency doubts Iraq units' "independent" ratings

[Eugene]

Source: Reuters

U.S. agency doubts Iraq units' "independent" ratings
Tue Dec 4, 2007 7:04am EST

By David Morgan

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. assertions about the growing
independence of Iraqi security units are often based on
conflicting claims or assessment methods that do not allow
for "independent" ratings, a U.S. watchdog agency said on
Monday.

A report by the Government Accountability Office said the
Defense Department and top military officials including U.S.
Commander in Iraq Gen. David Petraeus have sought to show
progress by repeatedly citing numbers of Iraqi Security
Force (ISF) units deemed "independent" or "fully independent."

But it is unclear how the Pentagon and its officials have
reached those conclusions, according to the GAO.

"First, the process by which ISF units are assessed does not
allow for a rating of 'independent' or 'fully independent.'
Second, statements in DOD reports seemingly contradict
claims of ISF independence," said the agency, a nonpartisan
investigative arm of Congress.

-snip-

Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUSN0345547020071204

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Also: Report: Violence hampering Iraqi ability to develop its security forces - AP

[rockybelt]

1. This along with

the Iranian nuculuar report is bad news for dubya and the shooter.
This is an important thread.

[gratuitous]

2. The Bush administration fudging things? Say it's not so!

This administration has a consistent pattern and practice of shading, fudging, prevaricating and outright lying. For the life of me, I cannot understand why its pronouncements are greeted with such credulity by the media. They've lied before, they're lying now, they've lied about stuff we don't even know about yet, and they'll continue to lie in the future. I'm not saying the media should call bullshit on every little thing that comes out of this administration (though they'd not be far wrong as a matter of course), but evince just the slightest bit of skepticism, would you please folks?

When the Pentagon tells you that ISF units are "independent" or "fully independent," could you at least ask the follow-up question, "And how do you measure that, sir?" or "How did you reach that conclusion?" See, that's one of the differences between being a reporter and a stenographer.