Independent UK: Bush running out of friends over Iraq

[marmar]

Bush running out of friends over Iraq
By Kathy Marks in Sydney
Published: 06 September 2007


President George Bush faced another bleak day over Iraq yesterday as news of the deaths of eight US soldiers followed the publishing of a damning independent report into the progress of Iraq's security forces. The only bright spot for the increasingly isolated Mr Bush came on arrival in Sydney where the Australian Prime Minister, John Howard, offered his staunch backing for a continued presence in Iraq.

The independent assessment by a 20-member panel led by retired US General James Jones, said Iraq's security forces have made "uneven progress" and are unlikely in the next 12 to 18 months to take over security on their own. It came only days before the Bush Administration's own progress report on Iraq which will be presented by General David Petraeus, the commander on the ground, to Congress next week.

The 37-page study said Baghdad's police force and Ministry of Interior are plagued by "dysfunction".

On a brighter note it found that Iraq's military forces, notably the Army, show "clear evidence of developing the baseline infrastructures that lead to the successful formation of a national defence capability".

General Jones was formerly in charge of US troops in Europe as well as the Marine Corps Commandant. He is to testify before Congress today. His report is breezily upbeat about progress made by the Iraqi army describing it as " proficient" in counterinsurgency and counterterrorism operations.

"They are gaining size and strength, and will increasingly be capable of assuming greater responsibility for Iraq's security," the report states, adding that special forces in particular are "highly capable and extremely effective".

The dismal reports came as Mr Bush's Democratic opponents try to force a withdrawal of US troops from Iraq in the expectation that Mr Bush will try to keep them in place in early 2008. At best Mr Bush is expected to order symbolic cut in troops by Christmas, something General Petraeus hinted at in an interview with ABC News this week.

They also might be persuaded to wait until April if Mr Bush agrees to a small, symbolic drawdown of troops by the end of the year, as is suggested to the White House by Senator John Warner, an influential Republican on security matters. .....(more)

The complete piece is at: http://news.independent.co.uk/world/australasia/article2934352.ece

[Drum]

1. Ya think??? nt