Democratic leaders seize on GAO Iraq report

Leading Democrats seized on early news of a forthcoming report from the Government Accountability Office that Iraq has met only three out of 18 congressionally mandated benchmarks for political and military progress as proof that the president’s strategy in Iraq is failing to deliver and a new direction is needed to end the violence.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said a new strategy must begin immediately and warned about GOP “spin” coming from the White House and Congress depicting Iraq in a rosier light than the facts warrant.

{mosads}Reid cited press reports that a government whistleblower may have leaked a draft copy of the GAO report to the press in an attempt to prevent the possibility that administration or military officials would soften the final report.

“It is clear that every objective expert keeps providing the American public with the same facts: that the president’s flawed Iraq strategy is failing to deliver what it needs to — a political solution for Iraq,” Reid stated. “The forthcoming GAO report offers a clear assessment that a new direction in Iraq must begin immediately, before more American lives are lost and more taxpayer dollars wasted.”

The GAO will release the unclassified version of the report Tuesday, just one week before the White House delivers its own new benchmark report to Congress, along with congressional testimony from Army Gen. David Petraeus, the top U.S. commander in Iraq, and Ambassador Ryan Crocker.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said the report appears to be more negative than a July White House report on progress in Iraq, adding that President Bush is continuing to “stubbornly” refuse to change his strategy.

“The president is demanding tens of billions more dollars for the war in Iraq despite nonpartisan conclusions, such as the draft GAO report and the recent National Intelligence Estimate, that the Iraqi government has failed to achieve required reforms,” she said. “He insists that our soldiers sacrifice even more, and taxpayers spend billions more dollars for an Iraqi government incapable or unwilling to institute reforms required by the president himself.”
The White House immediately took issue with the conclusions Democrats were drawing, and continued to highlight military progress and at least the hope of political progress on key legislative initiatives. Iraqi government leaders earlier this week unveiled details of an oil accord and a plan to install former members of the Baathist party, who were purged shortly after the war began, into civil servant positions.

White House spokesman Tony Snow said Democratic leaders should talk to several of their members, such as Sen. Dick Durbin (Ill.) and Rep. Brian Baird (Wash.), who just returned from Iraq and are saying that the U.S. is making positive military progress in key areas.

“Well, number one, they ought to talk to the Democrats who’ve just come back from Iraq who said just the opposite [from their Democratic leaders] … suggesting that there have been, in fact, significant changes under the surge and there have (sic) been significant progress,” Snow said.

Snow also said it would be a mistake to limit the view of “what’s going on in Iraq” to the benchmarks, considering that some significant improvements were not included in the report.

“Sunni Iraqis have, in fact, turned against al Qaeda,” he said. “And really opened up a front against al Qaeda. That is of enormous significance and also creates a possibility of greater political reconciliation in the long run as well.”

Snow added that since the U.S. troop surge, the number of ethnic and religious sectarian killings is down 75 percent and the number of weapons cache seizures have doubled.

“You have a reduction in bombing violence and bombing killings of U.S. and coalition forces,” he said. “There have been a number of  — you have kills and captures way up when it comes to those who have been fighting against the government.”

Democratic presidential candidates began chiming in with their own reactions to the first accounts of the forthcoming report.

Former Sen. John Edwards (D-N.C.) was particularly harsh in his criticism of the administration.

“Today, it became clearer than ever that the Bush administration is living in a fantasy world when it comes to Iraq,” he said. “This isn’t a political game — it’s a war. And brave soldiers are dying every day for the administration's failure to be straight with the American people. The D.C. double-talk has to stop, and we have to get Iraq back on track to the comprehensive political solution that will stabilize the country.”

Edwards also called on Congress to send a strong message to Bush when it returns next week that it will not continue funding the war without a timetable for withdrawal.