Report Finds Fault in Bush Administration's Progress Report in Iraq

A report released today by the independent, nonpartisan Government Accountability Office finds flaws or inaccuracies in the measures used by the Bush administration to assess military and political progress in Iraq. While administration officials have emphasized security improvements and overall progress as a result of last fall's troop surge, the report indicates that the relative calm remains fragile and that the Iraqi Army's readiness has been overstated.

The GAO report also takes aim at the American plan in Iraq, set out by President Bush in January 2007 and adopted by the Pentagon, which laid out a 12 to 18 month strategy for handing over control of all of Iraq's provinces. Just nine out of 18 provinces have been handed over.

Our last edition of the Confidence in U.S. Foreign Policy Index shows a marked shift in public attitudes about the war in Iraq. Certainly it remains a top foreign policy concern; when asked to volunteer the top foreign policy problem facing the U.S., pluralities name Iraq. But the number who say this has fallen dramatically from a year ago, when 29 percent said Iraq was the biggest problem (compared with 19 percent now). In a shift toward concerns about the economy and energy, the Iraq war is getting less attention in the media, and in the wake of the "surge," more of the coverage has been positive. As a result, the Iraq situation seems to appear more under control and possibly less threatening for the public. Still, attitudes remain negative. Fewer say there’s “not much” the United States can do to create a democratic Iraq (44 percent, down seven points from six months ago) or to control the violence there (42 percent, also down seven points).