Be Sure To Compare

The GAO is out with an overview report of the progress in Iraq. It paints a very poor picture:

Via Slate:

The Washington Post leads with its second Iraq-related scoop in two days. The paper got ahold of the draft of the Government Accountability Office report that evaluates progress in Iraq and, unsurprisingly, the picture isn't pretty. Only three of the 18 benchmarks set by Congress have been fully met. "Key legislation has not been passed, violence remains high, and it is unclear whether the Iraqi government will spend $10 billion in reconstruction funds," the report concludes.

The Post calls the GAO report "strikingly negative," and although it doesn't come out and say it, the draft certainly seems like an indictment of the administration's assessment of progress last month. The GAO questions some of the White House's conclusions, and says that, in the future, the administration should take more views into consideration and back up its findings more extensively. The GAO found there really hasn't been a decrease in violence against Iraqis and says there has been a marked decrease in the number of Iraqi army units that can operate without assistance. Even though the GAO's mandate was to provide a yes or no judgment on the benchmarks, it does say two have been "partially met." A government official apparently gave the report to the Post fearing the "pessimistic conclusions would be watered down in the final version."

This report will be a nice contrast to the upcoming "Petreaus" report.