The report said the Al Maliki government achieved what was termed
satisfactory progress towards eight of 18 political, security and military
benchmarks. But the Iraqi military and security forces were said to have
failed in efforts to operate independently of the U.S. military, and that
Iraqi combat capability has decreased slightly over the last six months.
"The ISF [Iraqi security forces] continues to show slow progress," the
report said. "ISF capability is increasing, but further ISF proficiency,
improved logistics, and expanded forces are needed in order to assume more
responsibility from coalition forces."
The administration has outlined a four-phase plan for the stabilization
of Iraq. The first phase was the toppling of the Saddam Hussein regime; the
second phase was the holding of free elections, and the third phase was the
Sunni-Shi'ite war.
"We've entered a fourth phase: deploying reinforcements and launching
new operations to help Iraqis bring security to their people," President
George Bush said on Thursday. "Our top priority is to help the Iraqis
protect their population."
Officials said the Iranian-sponsored Hizbullah has been training
insurgents to attack the U.S.-led coalition in Iraq. They said Syria has
been providing safe haven to insurgents who enter Iraq for suicide bombing
missions.
"Even if violence is diminished, given the current winner-take-all
attitude and sectarian animosities infecting the political scene, Iraqi
leaders will be hard pressed to achieve sustained political reconciliation,"
U.S. Deputy National Intelligence Director Thomas Fingar said.
The report said the Al Maliki government has failed to purge Baathists
from the government and military or disarm militias. The White House also
cited the government failure to pass a law that would divide oil revenues.
The administration has determined that Baghdad has managed to deploy
three brigades for the counter-insurgency operation in Baghdad. But the
report said the Iraqi brigades have fallen short of their required manning
levels and commanders were prevented from operating against Shi'ite
militias.
"There have been no reported instances of political interference in
operations that U.S. commanders have recommended against Sunni Arab
insurgents or AQI [Al Qaida in Iraq] since the start of Operation Fardh Al
Qanun," the report said. "There have been concerns, however, about political
interference -- though not at the prime minister's level -- in some
operations to target Shi'a extremist networks, especially JAM [Mahdi Army]."
