4 Short Paragraphs And 1 Semi-Lame Chart: The NY Times Reports On “The State Of Iraq”
(CAMP TAJI  Soccer players put on a display of footwork and skill during a Taji Qada soccer tournament at the stadium here, Dec. 26. - MNF-Iraq)
(An Iraqi Army commander hands out toys to the children of Khadan Village. Soldiers from the 4th Battalion, 7th Brigade of the Iraqi Army handed out toys and blankets to the children of a local village, Dec. 20. Photo by Sgt. 1st Class Adam Shaw. - MNF-Iraq)
(An Iraqi Soldier clears an obstacle as he works his way toward a simulated casualty during medical training with U.S. Army Special Forces Soldiers on Camp Diwaniyah, Iraq, Dec. 1, 2008. The Iraqi Soldiers ran the obstacle course before evaluating their casualty in order to test their performance under stressful conditions. U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Eric Harris. - MNF-Iraq)
Note … It took 3 … count `em 3 people to work on this “report”. And no pictures?!?
While trying to ’set-up’ a pissing contest between Rummy and the folks who came after he left, they also try to put Iraq in some sort of ‘hopeless’ and ‘changeless’ light.
From where I sit, I’d say their ‘hope’ for ‘change’ is on the right track … and are in far better and promising shape, economically and government-wise, than we are. In the short time span of their government they have been more positively productive than our dumb ass Congress has been … and don’t get me started on the whole Blago-Chicago politics and corruption bullshit … oh, and it is pretty much safer to be in Iraq than Washington DC, Detroit, Chicago … or probably any large American city.
Then there’s that whole “Christmas in Iraq” thing the Times didn’t notice while making sure “Christmas” didn’t offend anyone in this country …
Good thing these people weren’t around during our rebuilding post American Revolution or that whole messy Civil War thing …
Shit heads.
The State of Iraq: An Update
By JASON CAMPBELL, MICHAEL O’HANLON and AMY UNIKEWICZ
AS 2008 and the Bush presidency conclude, Iraq has settled into a kind of violent semi-peace. The population-protection strategy initiated by Gen. David Petraeus has been a remarkable success on balance. Its logic continues even though American force numbers in Iraq have nearly returned to pre-surge levels.
Former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld and his associates have been recently claiming that the groundwork for the surge was laid during their tenure, and that 2007 was not the first time the Pentagon increased forces in Iraq. But they miss the fact that only in the last two years have our troops, in conjunction with the Iraqi security forces, emphasized protection of the Iraqi population. They also ignore the simultaneous effort to bring Sunni volunteers, the so-called Sons of Iraq, into the counterinsurgency. These points are crucial  not only to set the record straight and understand current trends but, more important, to fashion future policy.
While Iraqi security forces have shown huge improvement, other government institutions still flounder. Inflation is in check and the economy is growing, but quality of life for most Iraqis has improved only modestly. On the whole, we feel that the Iraqi government has met 7 of the 11 “Iraq index†benchmarks we have laid out, which include steps like establishing provincial election laws, reaching an accord on sharing oil revenue and enacting pension and amnesty laws. (Our system allows a score of 0, 0.5 or 1 for each category, and is dynamic, meaning we can subtract points for backsliding.)
For all the progress in Iraqi politics, including approving the status of forces agreement with the United States that takes effect on Jan. 1, there are still big challenges: agreements on how to share oil among all sectarian groups and provinces; determining the future status of Kirkuk and other places contested by Kurds and Arabs; and the resettlement of four million people.
Jason Campbell is a research analyst at the Brookings Institution in Washington. Michael O’Hanlon is a senior fellow at Brookings. Amy Unikewicz is a graphic designer in South Norwalk, Conn.
Hard to read? Click for the chart here.
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