US Congress given negative assessment on Iraq progress

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Source: CCTV.com | 08-31-2007 15:00

the White House(file photo)

A US Congressional report to be released next week has given negative assessment on the Iraqi government's performance in advancing political progress and security.

Stung by the bleak findings, the US Defense Department has asked that some of the assessment be revised. The report by the Government Accountability Office is expected to conclude that the Iraqi government has failed to pass at least 13 of the 18 benchmarks set to judge its handling of the domestic issues.

Although its full content is still unavailable to the public, the report has already increased skepticism about the US government's Iraq strategy.

The Government Accountability Office report comes at a pivotal time in the heated debate about Iraq strategy in the United States.

The congressional watchdog is expected to find that the Iraqi government have met only modest security goals. But none of the major political aims, such as passage of an oil law, has been achieved. Overall, the report would put the Iraqi government's success rate at about 20 percent.

Some senior political analysts say the Bush administration may not have released all the data required to make a fuller assessment. But the situation in Iraq does remain worrisome.

Senior political scientist of RAND Corporation, Nora Bensahel said, "The facts on the ground in Iraq remain fairly difficult. It is a very, very unsettled situation. The GAO report suggested that the level of violence has not decreased, contrary to what the NIE (National Intelligence Estimate) had said. "