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Bush report sharpens Iraq debate
The White House says progress on eight of 18 'benchmarks' is a reason for optimism.
By Howard LaFranchi | Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitorfrom the July 13, 2007 edition
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Washington - Progress on the military front, not so much in the political arena: That is the shorthand of President Bush's assessment of the impact of the "surge" of US troops in Iraq that he sent to Congress Thursday.
How far the interim report on Mr. Bush's Iraq strategy will go in cooling rising demands in Congress for a change of course – one that begins to pull US forces back from the fighting in Iraq – will be gauged over the coming week as Congress debates defense-spending legislation.
Some Republican lawmakers jumped quickly to mold perception of the report, trumpeting it as more positive than many observers had anticipated. But an assessment that basically calls for more patience on Iraq may end up having a limited impact – in part because it emphasizes military achievements at a point in the Iraq effort when everyone from military commanders to analysts agree that political progress is now the crucial determining factor.
In unveiling the report, Bush said at a press conference Thursday that the military progress is laying the groundwork for the necessary political advances. "Progress on security will pave the way for political progress," he said, acknowledging that his report paints a brighter picture on the military front. Adding that security is the prerequisite for political progress, the president added, "It is not surprising that political progress is lagging behind" military achievements.
He also acknowledged the US public's dim view of the US presence in Iraq, but called for Americans to reconsider "the consequences for America if we fail in Iraq." He repeated his long-held view that a failure to confront Al Qaeda and related groups in Iraq would risk for emboldening extremists to extend their actions to American soil.
Tally of the benchmarks
The White House assessment, which evaluates a list of 18 benchmarks that Congress set when it signed on to the strategy to add about 30,000 more US troops in Iraq, is mixed. It finds "satisfactory" progress in eight benchmarks, "not satisfactory" progress in eight others, and a mixed assessment of two.
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