The War In Iraq

Sacrifice of Our Troops in Iraq Not Being Matched By Iraqi Government's Will to Make Necessary Political Progress

Defense Secretary Robert Gates' recent assessment of progress in Iraq:

"[The Iraqi government] seem to have become energized over the last few weeks," Gates told reporters who traveled with him from an international security conference in Munich, Germany. The Pentagon chief added that he wants to "see what the prospects are for further success in the next couple of months." [AP, 2/10/08]

FACTS ON THE GROUND IN IRAQ

· Today, Iraq's Parliamentary Speaker, Mahmoud Mashhadani, warned his fellow lawmakers: "If this situation continues, if parliament is not able to let the budget pass, then it is at a very dangerous point ... and this may lead to the collapse of the whole state." [Reuters, 2/11/08]

· On Thursday, dozens of Iraqi parliament members brought legislative business to a stand-still by walking out to protest new draft provincial elections legislation. [AP, 2/7/08]

· Iraq's Sunni Vice President Tariq al-Hashemi refused to sign the much-heralded de-Baathification law recently passed by the Iraqi Parliament. "We cannot regard this law as a step in the national reconciliation process. The spirit of revenge is so clear in many articles of the law." Mr. Hashemi is not alone -- the presidency council "plans to seek changes in the bill -- clouding hopes it would encourage reconciliation." [Reuters, 1/31/08; AP, 2/4/08]

· Iraq's Oil Ministry has begun halting oil exports to companies that refuse to cancel contracts made directly with officials in the Kurdish region on the ground these contracts are illegal. Austria's OMV, "the leading oil and gas group in central Europe," and South Korea's SK Energy have already been cut off. [Washington Post, 2/3/08]

· Tahseen Sheikhly, the civilian spokesman for the Baghdad security team, gave a grim assessment of the infrastructure problems troubling the city including a lack of water, poor electricity and a damaged sewage system. According to reports, one of the two working sewage treatment plants has a blocked pipe resulting in a lake of waste water so large it can be seen "as a big black spot on Google Earth." [Agence France Press, 2/4/08]

· The drop in violence in Baghdad over the past year "has come at a price. The sectarian divisions there have now been enshrined in concrete and enforced by security groups that mistrust each other." [NPR, 2/10/08]

· U.S. military leaders have said the Iraqi government's failure to improve electricity, water and other basic services "could reverse recent security gains." [Reuters, 2/10/08]

· Lieutenant General Ray Odierno, the Number 2 U.S. Commander in Iraq: "We still have some work to do...I tell everybody we've opened a window. There's a level of security now that would allow [Iraqi politicians] to take advantage of this window in time, pass the key legislation to bring Iraq together so they can move forward. Are they going to do that? In my mind, we don't know." [Time, 1/31/08]