GAO Report Highlights Bleak Situation in Iraq

GAO REPORT HIGHLIGHTS BLEAK SITUATION IN IRAQ

Washington, D.C.–U.S. Representative Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) released the follow statement today in response to the Government Accountability Office's (GAO) report on Iraq. The GAO assessment reports that Iraq has only fully meet 3 of the 18 benchmarks laid out by President Bush. According to the report, political progress in Iraq has been unsatisfactory and violence "remains high....

"The GAO report confirms exactly what I discovered when I visited Iraq this summer, that the surge has failed. It is clear that the Iraqi government is completely incapable of meeting the political benchmarks laid out by President Bush. Meanwhile, the situation on the ground continues to deteriorate as the President and his underlings continue to urge the American people to be patient.

The American people have run out of patience. After losing more than 3,700 lives and spending nearly half a trillion dollars in Iraq, we have given war a chance and it is not working. It is time for us to bring our troops home and give diplomacy a chance in Iraq.

The GAO and National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) reports clearly show that after four and a half years the U.S. is not making progress in Iraq. The Iraqi government has failed to meet nearly every political, economic and security benchmark laid out by President Bush in January.

Not only has the war had a devastating impact on our country in terms of the loss of life and treasure, but it has also weakened our ability to fight the real threats to our security and safety that exist around the world....