Even as Iraq’s foreign minister sounded a new warning of doom if U.S. troops leave his country, a draft report to Congress on the war this week will conclude that the U.S.-backed government in Iraq has met none of its targets for political, economic and other reform.
The report, portions of which were leaked to the media Monday, was disheartening, but hardly surprising given the continuing grim news out of Iraq. It’s clear that it could prove devastating to President Bush’s plans to stay the course with his military “surge.”
The war, in its fifth year, has cost more than 3,600 American lives, tens of thousands of Iraqi civilian lives and more than $500 billion. Mounting casualties, ongoing sectarian violence and the failure of Iraq’s leadership to introduce political reforms or get a handle on the warring sectarian violence seem to be ample evidence that the United States is making little, if any, progress.
Pulling out troops too quickly poses risks to Iraq, including the possible collapse of the government, Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari warned Monday. Until Iraqi forces are ready, he said, “there is a responsibility on the United States to stand with the [Iraqi government] as the forces are being built.”
Still, Iraq needs to show signs that it is taking more responsibility for its own security, including increasing the number and quality of Iraqi troops. And a plan should be put in place to enable U.S. forces, as the Iraq Study Group recommended, to “evolve to one of supporting the Iraqi army.”
The White House has been scrambling to put together this preliminary status report, which could go to Congress this week. Administration officials have been playing down the importance of a September assessment by top field commander Gen. David Petraeus, but this report could undermine it entirely.
Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid are vowing that the House and Senate will take another vote this month on the future of Iraq, likely as part of the Defense Department’s spending authorization bill.
Last spring’s showdown with Bush ended with the president vetoing a withdrawal plan and Republicans standing firmly with the president. This time around, things could be different. A growing number of Republicans appear ready to join Democrats in recommending an immediate change in course, having come to the conclusion that there will be no positive end to the U.S. presence in Iraq.
A bipartisan solution is the right approach to bringing about a responsible conclusion to this lengthy and costly war and we hope lawmakers can unite around a sound strategy.
While we’re not ready to declare the administration’s surge a failure, we’re also not ready to call for a hard and fast timetable for U.S. troop withdrawal. Progress should be measured according to critical benchmarks set by Bush and Congress.
Based on the original benchmarks, progress would be difficult to measure. Or perhaps, as Republican Sen. Chuck Hagel said on “Meet the Press” Sunday, not only is there no progress in Iraq, “we’re going backward.”
New Mexico Sen. Pete Domenici, one of the Republicans abandoning Bush on Iraq, said he would sign onto a bipartisan bill that embraces the findings of the bipartisan Iraq Study Group, which calls for the drawdown of U.S. troops by March. The study group said in a December report that the primary mission should be to enhance diplomatic and political efforts in Iraq and the region and modify the mission of U.S. troops into a support role for Iraqi security forces.
It’s difficult to foresee how that’s going to happen given the unsettling nature of Iraq, but the U.S. needs a plan should the surge fail. Clearly, Bush doesn’t have until September to gauge the success of the surge. The political climate has changed, especially given this new report.
