August 24, 2007
NIE: Political Gains In Iraq Have Been 'Elusive'
A new report from U.S. intelligence officials paints a dim picture of Iraq's political future, calling the prospects of reconciliation "elusive" and predicting a "challenging road ahead" for those wishing to bring stability to the war-torn nation. The National Intelligence Estimate [PDF] released yesterday also recognizes "measurable but uneven" progress in the country's security.
But while they predict the political situation will become more "precarious" over the course of the next year, intelligence officials are not advocating a change of course similar to the one many members of Congress and Democratic presidential candidates have been suggesting.
"We assess that changing the mission of Coalition forces from a primarily counterinsurgency and stabilization role to a primary combat support role for Iraqi forces and counterterrorist operations to prevent" al-Qaida "from establishing a safe haven would erode security gains achieved thus far," the report warns.
The New York Times, Washington Post and NPR have more on the NIE.
The report was released just as an influential Republican in Congress, Senate Armed Services Committee ranking member John Warner, announced his recommendation that President Bush begin drawing down troops from Iraq in the next month.
In an interview with Judy Woodruff of PBS' "NewsHour with Jim Lehrer" last night, Warner said he hoped that bringing a small number of troops home would send a signal to Iraqi leaders that they need to step up their efforts to resolve the political crisis there. But he maintained his position that any decision to begin withdrawing troops should rest with the president and military commanders, not Congress. "Let the president set the timetable; let's not have the Congress set any timetable," Warner said.
