"The Government Accountability Office delivered on Monday what was, in many ways, a sobering report on the current situation in Iraq. Noting that violence levels in the war had decreased, the authors nevertheless concluded that many of the Bush administration's "surge" priorities had so far been unrealized.
The most startling illustration of the hindered strategy seems likely to be the current status of the Iraqi Security Forces -- the policing and military presence that is supposed to allow U.S. troops to come home. According to the GAO, the percentage of Iraqi units "capable of performing operations without U.S. assistance" remains roughly 10 percent. Thus, while the number of forces has risen by more than 150,000, the actual assistance that American troops are receiving is far more negligible. Adding salt to the wound, the GAO notes: "Since 2003, the United States has provided more than $20 billion to develop Iraqi security forces."
So writes Sam Stein in The Huffington Post. Read the full piece here. Yet another confirmation of what a debacle, on so many levels and in most respects, the Iraq War has been.
The most startling illustration of the hindered strategy seems likely to be the current status of the Iraqi Security Forces -- the policing and military presence that is supposed to allow U.S. troops to come home. According to the GAO, the percentage of Iraqi units "capable of performing operations without U.S. assistance" remains roughly 10 percent. Thus, while the number of forces has risen by more than 150,000, the actual assistance that American troops are receiving is far more negligible. Adding salt to the wound, the GAO notes: "Since 2003, the United States has provided more than $20 billion to develop Iraqi security forces."
So writes Sam Stein in The Huffington Post. Read the full piece here. Yet another confirmation of what a debacle, on so many levels and in most respects, the Iraq War has been.
Comments