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| Progress in
Iraq: The good news... |
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By far, the biggest asset the to United States and the
International community at large, is the establishment and
preservation of a democracy
in the middle east. Iraq is now well on it's way to establishing
a free, democratic government with free elections. The president
has remained steadfast in his resolve to aggressively engage
terrorists and those who support terrorist. He has never
faltered or wavered in his quest to insure and protect our freedom and
our nations interest in taking this battle to the enemy... |
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Iraq's
Benchmarks
Who's Moving the goalposts now?
by Frederick W. Kagan
04/03/2008 12:00:00 AM |
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Legislative Benchmarks (4 accomplished; 2 underway; 1 stalled)
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Benchmark |
January 2007 |
March 2008 |
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Enacting and
implementing legislation on de-Baathification. |
Not done
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Passed by
CoR on January 12, 2008;
approved by
Presidency Council in February 2008. |
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Enacting and
implementing legislation to ensure the equitable distribution of
hydrocarbon resources of the people of Iraq without regard to the
sect or ethnicity of recipients, and enacting and implementing
legislation to ensure that the energy resources of Iraq benefit
Sunni Arabs, Shia Arabs, Kurds, and other Iraqi citizens equitably.
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Not done
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Not done. Draft law
of July 2007 still under consideration in a CoR committee. The Kurds
are the major holdup here. But the provincial powers act and the
2008 budget do this de facto. The 17 percent share of Iraq's oil
revenue given to the Kurds in the 2008 budget represented the
short-term compromise on this issue, with negotiations on the
longer-term legislation continuing. |
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Enacting and
implementing legislation on procedures to form semi-autonomous
regions. |
Underway |
This was never
desirable. The Kurdish Regional Government, however, is up and
running, and a law has been passed that would allow provinces to
form regions after April 2008. We can fairly say that this is moving
ahead while hoping that it does not happen. |
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Enacting and
implementing legislation establishing an Independent High Electoral
Commission, provincial elections law, provincial council
authorities, and a date for provincial elections. |
Not done |
Passed by CoR on
February 13, 2008; vetoed by Vice President Adel
Abdul Mehdi on
February 26, 2008; veto withdrawn and law approved by Presidency
Council on March 19, 2008. Provincial powers law set October 1, 2008
as date for elections; Presidency Council has reiterated support for
that date; United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq announced on
February 14, 2008, a new procedure for selecting key elections
officials; that procedure was set in motion on February 21, 2008.
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Enacting and
implementing legislation addressing amnesty. |
Not done
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Passed by CoR on
February 13, 2008; signed by Presidency Council on February 26,
2008. |
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Enacting and
implementing legislation establishing a strong militia disarmament
program to ensure that such security forces are accountable only to
the central government and loyal to the constitution of Iraq.
|
Not done |
Laws have been
passed and decrees have been issued declaring that only the Iraqi
Security Forces (ISF) are legitimate armed forces. The movement of
former insurgents into Concerned Local Citizens groups is a major
part of accomplishing this task. Moqtada al Sadr's ceasefire
(extended for another six months) is another element of it. Maliki's
recent push to disarm Sadrist militias in Basra and elsewhere is
evidence of the Iraqi Government's determination to accomplish this
goal, even if it is not yet capable of doing so. |
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Forming a
Constitutional Review Committee and then completing the
constitutional review. |
Not done
|
CoR formed a
Constitutional Review Committee in September 2006. It was originally
supposed to report back in May 2007, and submitted a draft, but has
since been granted an extension through August 2008. On the other
hand, most of the key provisions in the Iraqi constitution requiring
review involve the rest of the benchmark legislation, so this can be
fairly said to be underway. |
Security Benchmarks (All 7 accomplished)
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Benchmark |
January 2007 |
March 2008 |
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Establishing supporting
political, media, economic, and services committees in support of
the Baghdad Security Plan (BSP). |
Not done |
The government has been
supporting the BSP in all of these areas, with or without specific
committees being formed. |
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Providing three trained
and ready Iraqi brigades to support Baghdad operations. |
Underway |
Done--over and above, in
fact. Far more than three brigades have rotated through Baghdad, to
say nothing of the Iraqi brigades fighting actively in Anbar,
Ninewah, Salah ad Din, Babil, Diyala, Wasit, Qadisiya, Basra, and
elsewhere. The Iraqi Government is forming a new division in Baghdad
(the 11th) to eliminate the need to keep moving forces from
provinces into the capital. When that formation is complete, there
will be three Iraqi Army divisions permanently stationed in or near
the capital (the 6th, the 11th, and the 9th Mechanized Division
based in Taji). |
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Providing Iraqi commanders
with all authority to execute this plan and to make tactical and
operational decisions, in consultation with U.S commanders, without
political intervention, to include the authority to pursue all
extremists, including Sunni insurgents and Shiite militias.
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Not done |
Done. Both U.S. and Iraqi
forces have regularly targeted both Sunni and Shiite militias. The
emphasis in this benchmark was on operations against Shia militias.
Again, the recent operations in Basra highlight the renewed and
increasing determination of the Iraqi Government to accomplish this
goal. |
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Ensuring that, according
to President Bush, Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki said "the Baghdad
security plan will not provide a safe haven for any outlaws,
regardless of [their] sectarian or political affiliation."
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Not done |
Done--there are no "safe
havens" in Iraq for outlaws. U.S. and Iraqi conventional and special
forces have targeted Sunni and Shiite militias and criminals from
Kurdistan to Basra, including Sadr City. |
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Reducing the level of
sectarian violence in Iraq and eliminating militia control of local
security. |
Not done |
Done. Attacks against
Sadrist positions in Basra are the start of an assault on the last
bastions of militia control of local security in Iraq. |
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Establishing all of the
planned joint security stations in neighborhoods across Baghdad.
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Underway |
Done. Iraqi forces
operating in Mosul have adopted this technique on their own as well,
planning and establishing JSSs similar to those developed in
Baghdad. |
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Increasing the number of
Iraqi security forces units capable of operating independently.
|
Underway |
Done. Forty new ISF
battalions will come on line this year. The Government of Iraq
concentrated 30,000 ISF troops in Basra recently and launched a
major offensive operation with virtually no Coalition ground
support. Iraqi military units in the Najaf-Hillah-Karbala-Diwaniyah-Kut
area repelled Special Groups attacks during this fight with little
or no Coalition Forces ground support in many cases. |
Government Performance Benchmarks (1 accomplished; 3 underway)
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Benchmark |
January 2007 |
March 2008 |
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Ensuring that the rights
of minority political parties in the Iraqi legislature are
protected. |
Hard to measure
|
Hard to measure--but the
minority parties seem to think so, judging by the unanimous passage
of key benchmark legislation recently. |
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Allocating and spending
$10 billion in Iraqi revenue for reconstruction projects, including
delivery of essential services, on an equitable basis. |
Not done |
The government has
achieved equity on this point: all groups think they are being
discriminated against. Progress in spending the budget has been
significant, and the government is working actively to improve it. |
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Ensuring that the Iraqi
Security Forces are providing evenhanded enforcement of the law.
|
Not done |
It is hard to give a
definitive "red light" or "green light" to this--some Americans do
not think that American law enforcement does this. But enormous
progress has been made since January 2007. |
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Ensuring that Iraq's
political authorities are not undermining or making false
accusations against members of the Iraqi security forces.
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Not done |
There has been progress
here, but significant challenges remain. |
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Benchmarks
accomplished: |
0 |
12 |
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Progress being
made: |
5 |
5 |
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No progress:
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13 |
1 |
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Iraq Facts: 8/30/07 |
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Iraqi leaders took
an important step towards reaching agreement on de-Baā€™athification,
provincial powers law, a draft oil law, and detainee issues.
On Sunday, Prime
Minister Maliki, President Talabani, Vice President Hashimi, Vice
President Abd al-Mahdi, and President Barzani:
·
Agreed to
establish a new power-sharing arrangement
·
Committed to
supporting bottom-up security and political initiatives
·
Advanced
agreement on several key legislative benchmarks including hydrocarbon
legislation, de-Baāathification, financial revenues law, and detainee
issues
·
Called for
the development of a long-term relationship with the United States that
will serve the common interests of both nations by combating terrorism
and bringing stability to the region.
Ambassador Ryan
Crocker:
The statement released by the five leaders yesterday is a positive and
encouraging message that the government is making all efforts to achieve
benefits for Iraqi people. I'm optimistic. I can see there is
progress.ā€¯
Iraqā's judicial
system is making progress.
(U.S. Embassy
Justice AttachƩ Jim Santelle, Col. Mark Martins, Judge Abdul Satar
Bayrkdar, Press Briefing, 8/13/07)
·
The judicial
system has increased judges nationwide from 400 post-war to over 1,000
today, all of whom worked as lawyers for at least 10 years
·
96 percent of
civil allegations from 2006 have now been resolved, the highest
percentage in the history of the Iraqi court.
·
In Rusafa, a
newly secured Rule of Law complex is now fully functional.
o
The complex
contains 4,800 detention spaces and will soon increase to over 7,000.
o
Iraqi judges
at the complex this year have already received over 2,000 cases,
completed more than 700 investigations, conducted more than 60 full
trials, and dismissed over 325 cases.
Last week in Baqubah,
the Iraqi Army sent money to the provincial government while the public
flour mill began processing wheat.
These small but
meaningful steps demonstrate that economic growth emerges as terrorists
are driven out.
(Rear
Adm. Mark Fox And Philip Reeker, Press Briefing, 8/26/07)
·
The Iraqi
army escorted $38 million from the central bank in Baghdad to Baqubah to
pay salaries and pensions to nearly 70 percent of the local residents.
·
560 tons of
imported wheat arrived in a 21-truck convoy August 16 from Baghdad.
·
The mill is
capable of producing 200 tons of finished flour per day and will employ
about 100 workers and several truck drivers – its reopening is the
result of a collaborative partnersh ip between the 3rd Brigade, 2nd
Infantry Division, Stryker Brigade Combat Team, and Diyala provincial
leadership.
The United States
government is contributing $30 Million to the UNHCR/UNICEF Joint Appeal
to provide educational opportunities for Iraqi children in Syria,
Lebanon, Jordan, and Egypt.
(Media Note, U.S. Department Of State, 8/28/07)
·
The U.S.
Department of State has made over $183 million available this fiscal
year to assist Iraqi refugees and internally displaced persons, directly
and through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).
·
The
contribution will help displaced Iraqi students with tuition, books,
supplies and uniforms and help fund teacher recruitment and training,
remedial classes, psycho-social services, upgrading of water and
sanitation services, building of new schools or upgrading of existing
structures, and advocacy campaigns encouraging school attendance.
Provincial
Reconstruction Team (PRT) leaders report security, economic, and
political progress in al Anbar province.
(Kristin Hagerstrom
And Maj. Lee Suttee, Press Briefing, 8/23/07)
·
In Ramadi,
weapons cache finds are up 200 percent since April, and there have been
over 100 days with no attacks (compared to 50-60 per day earlier this
year).
·
The mayor of
Ramadi recently signed $107 million in reconstruction contracts for all
of Anbar province – all the money coming from the Governmeent of Iraq.
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| Did You Know?
http://www.defenselink.mil/ |
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Did
you know that 47 countries' have reestablished their embassies in Iraq?
-
Did
you know that the Iraqi government currently employs 1.2 million Iraqi
people?
-
Did
you know that 3100 schools have been renovated,
o
364
schools are under rehabilitation
o
263
new schools are now under construction
o
38
new schools have been completed in Iraq?
-
Did
you know that Iraq's higher educational structure consists of
20 Universities, 46 Institutes or colleges and 4 research centers,
all currently operating?
-
Did
you know that 25 Iraq students departed for the United State s
in January 2005 for the re-established Fulbright program?
-
Did
you know that the Iraqi Navy is operational?
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They
have 5 -100-foot patrol craft, 34 smaller vessels and a naval infantry
regiment.
-
Did
you know that Iraq's Air Force consists of three operational squadrons,
which includes 9 reconnaissance and 3 US C-130 transport aircraft (under
Iraqi operational control) which operate day and night, and will soon
add 16 UH-1 helicopters and 4 Bell Jet Rangers?
-
Did
you know that Iraq has a counter-terrorist unit and a Commando
Battalion?
-
Did
you know that the Iraqi Police Service has over 55,000 fully trained and
equipped police officers?
-
Did
you know that there are 5 Police Academies in Iraq that produce over
3500 new officers each 8 weeks?
-
Did
you know there are more than 1100 building projects going on in Iraq?
They include
o
364
schools
o
67
public clinics
o
15
hospitals
o
83
railroad stations
o
22
oil facilities
o
93
water
o
69
electrical facilities.
-
Did
you know that 96% of Iraqi children under the age of 5 have received the
first 2 series of polio vaccinations?
-
Did
you know that 4.3 million Iraqi children were enrolled in primary school
by mid October?
-
Did
you know that there are 1,192,000 cell phone subscribers in Iraq and
phone use has gone up 158%?
-
Did
you know that Iraq has an independent media that consists of 75 radio
stations, 180 newspapers and 10 television stations?
-
Did
you know that the Baghdad Stock Exchange opened in June of 2004?
-
Did
you know that 2 candidates in the Iraqi presidential election had
a televised debate recently?
OF COURSE WE
DIDN'T KNOW!
WHY DIDN'T WE
KNOW?
OUR MEDIA
WOULDN'T TELL US!
Instead of
reflecting our love for our country, we get photos of flag burning
incidents at Abu Ghraib and people throwing snowballs at
the presidential motorcades.
Tragically, the
lack of accentuating the positive in Iraq serves two purposes: It is
intended to undermine the world's perception of the United States thus
minimizing consequent support, and it is intended to
discourage American citizens.
---- Above facts
are verifiable on the
Department of Defense Web Site. |
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| Since President Bush declared an end to major
combat . |
|
-
... the first battalion of
the new Iraqi Army has graduated and is on active duty·
-
... over 60,000 Iraqis now provide
security to their fellow citizens.
-
...nearly all of Iraq's 400 courts are
functioning.
-
... the Iraqi judiciary is fully
independent.
-
...on Monday, October 6 power generation
hit 4,518 megawatts-exceeding the pre-war average.
-
...all 22 universities and 43 technical
institutes and colleges are open, as are nearly all primary and
secondary schools.
-
, by October 1, Coalition forces had
rehabbed over 1,500 schools - 500 more than their target.
-
... teachers earn from 12 to 25 times
their former salaries.
-
...all 240 hospitals and more than 1200
clinics are open.
-
...doctors' salaries are at least eight
times what they were under Saddam.
-
...pharmaceutical distribution has gone
from essentially nothing to 700 tons in May to a current total of
12,000 tons.
-
...the Coalition has helped administer
over 22 million vaccination doses to Iraq's children.
-
...a Coalition program has cleared over
14,000 kilometers of Iraq's 27,000 kilometers of weed-choked
canals. They now irrigate tens of thousands of farms. This project
has created jobs for more than 100,000 Iraqi men and women.
-
...we have restored over three-quarters of
pre-war telephone services and over two-thirds of the potable
water production.
-
... there are 4,900 full-service
connections. We expect 50,000 by January first.
-
...the wheels of commerce are turning.
From bicycles to satellite dishes to cars and trucks, businesses
are coming to life in all major cities and towns.
-
...95 percent of all pre-war bank
customers have service and first-time customers are opening
accounts daily.
-
... Iraqi banks are making loans to
finance businesses.
-
...the central bank is fully independent.
-
... Iraq has one of the world's most
growth-oriented investment and banking laws.
-
... Iraq (has) a single, unified currency
for the first time in 15 years.
-
...satellite dishes are legal.
-
...foreign journalists aren't on 10-day
visas paying mandatory and extortionate fees to the Ministry of
Information for "minders" and other government spies.
-
... there is no Ministry of Information.
-
...there are more than 170 newspapers.
-
... you can buy satellite dishes on what
seems like every street corner.
-
... foreign journalists and everyone else
are free to come and go.
-
...a nation that had not one single
element-legislative, judicial or executive-- of a representative
government, does.
-
...in Baghdad alone residents have
selected 88 advisory councils. Baghdad's first democratic transfer
of power in 35 years happened when the city council elected its
new chairman.
-
...today in Iraq chambers of commerce,
business, school and professional organizations are electing their
leaders all over the country.
-
... 25 ministers, selected by the most
representative governing body in Iraq's history, run the
day-to-day business of government.
-
...the Iraqi government regularly
participates in international events. Since July the Iraqi
government has been represented in over two dozen international
meetings, including those of the UN General Assembly, the Arab
League, the World Bank and IMF and, today, the Islamic Conference
Summit. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs today announced that it is
reopening over 30 Iraqi embassies around the world.
-
...Shia religious festivals that were all
but banned, aren't.
-
... for the first time in 35 years, in
Karbala thousands of Shiites celebrate the pilgrimage of the 12th
Imam.
-
...the Coalition has completed over 13,000
reconstruction projects, large and small, as part of (a) strategic
plan for the reconstruction of Iraq.
-
...Uday and Queasy are dead - and no
longer feeding innocent Iraqis to his zoo lions, raping the young
daughters of local leaders to force cooperation, torturing Iraq's
soccer players for losing games...murdering critics.
-
...children aren't imprisoned or murdered
when their parents disagree with the government.
-
...political opponents aren't imprisoned,
tortured, executed, maimed, or are forced to watch their families
die for disagreeing with Saddam.
-
...millions of long suffering Iraqis no
longer live in perpetual terror.
-
...Saudis will hold municipal elections.
-
... Qatar is reforming education to give
more choices to parents.
-
... Jordan is accelerating market economic
reforms.
-
... the Nobel Peace Prize was awarded for
the first time to an Iranian -- a Muslim woman who speaks out with
courage for human rights, for democracy and for peace.
-
...he has not faltered or failed.
-
...Saddam is gone.
-
... Iraq is free.
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