Report to Congress on the Situation in Iraq

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The decline in attacks after surge operations fully commenced stated in the report, taken from the US Department of Defense website.
civilian deaths since the start of the surge stated in the report, taken from the US Department of Defense website
.
The decline in Baghdad sectarian violence stated in the report, taken from the US Department of Defense website.

The Report to Congress on the Situation in Iraq (sometimes referred to as the Petraeus Report) was a two-part report released on September 10, 2007 by

U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker on progress by the Iraqi government in the ongoing Iraq War.[1]

Report testimonies

Petraeus' testimony

Petraeus concluded that "the military objectives of the surge are, in large measure, being met". He cited what he called recent consistent declines in security incidents. He partially attributed those declines to recent blows dealt against

Iraqi operations had drastically reduced ethno-sectarian violence in the country, though he stated that the gains were not entirely even. As such, he recommended a gradual drawdown of U.S. forces in Iraq, with a goal of reaching pre-surge troop levels by July 2008. Troop reductions would continue past this point as the situation warrants. Despite allegations that Petraeus' report would be written by the White House,[2] Petraeus insisted that he had written this testimony himself, without it having "been cleared by, nor shared with, anyone in the Pentagon, the White House, or Congress."[3]

Crocker's testimony

Though Crocker acknowledged slow political progress in many areas, and a lack of progress on many important pieces of legislation, he argued that, "a secure, stable democratic Iraq at peace with its neighbors is attainable." Though a national framework has fallen short of being implemented legislatively in key issues such as oil distribution, he observed that "even in the absence of legislation there is practical action as the central government shares oil revenues through budget allocations on an equitable basis with Iraq's provinces." He pointed out that provincial gains have been more pronounced, explaining that "there is abundant evidence that the security gains have opened the door for meaningful politics."[4]

Response

US Congressional response

Several

Democratic Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada argued the General's "plan is just more of the same" and "is neither a drawdown or a change in mission that we need." He also said that Congressional Democrats plan "to change the course of the war".[6]
Democratic
Armed Services Committees regarded the testimony as a publicity stunt; Representative Ike Skelton stated that "Iraqi leaders have made no progress".[1]

Chairman of the

public servants" and said Democrats feel "esteem for their professionalism."[7] He also said "We can no longer take their assertions on Iraq at face value"; concluding, "We need to get out of Iraq, for that country's sake as well as our own."[7]
this administration's fault."[10]

US Federal Government response

The

Bush Administration accepted Petraeus' troop deployment recommendations. It also stated that "Iraq's Government Has Not Yet Met Its Own Legislative Benchmarks" (the original capitalization).[11] Three other government reports measuring progress in Iraq were commissioned prior to Petraeus' testimony.[12]
A
Iraqi Government did not meet 11 of the 18 benchmark measures as of August 30, 2007.[13]
On September 14, a White House survey reported "satisfactory" progress on 9 of the 18 benchmarks.[14] Lionel Beehner Archived 2008-02-21 at the
Council of Foreign Relations has called the benchmarks "vague because the metrics to measure them are imprecise."[15] The New York Times stated on May 13 that "Nobody in Washington seems to agree on what progress actually means – or how, precisely, it might be measured."[16]

Petraeus has stated that his recommendations are not dependent on the Iraqi government's ability to meet the benchmarks.

non-partisan FactCheck.org criticized some of his comments, saying the President had "played loose with the facts".[19]

Iraqi Government response

On February 16, 2008, Iraqi Defense Minister Abdel Qader Jassim Mohammed told reporters that the surge was "working very well" and that Iraq has a "pressing" need for troops to stay to secure Iraqi borders.[20] He stated that "Results for 2007 prove that -- Baghdad is good now".[20]

Third-Party response

ad also labeled him "General Betray Us".[21][22]
On September 20, the
House passed an amendment criticizing the ad "in the strongest terms" by a 341-79 vote on September 26.[25][26][27]

Further information: MoveOn.org ad controversy

State Department-ese as gloomy as you could be." Council President Richard N. Haass stated that "He [Crocker] was not holding out high prospects of reconciliation. He was basically saying that benchmarks hadn't been met and were not likely to be met. This is part and parcel of a larger story."[28] Fellow Charles Kupchan Archived 2007-10-24 at the Wayback Machine argued that "The central issue is whether the surge shows signs of providing sufficient security in Baghdad and elsewhere to promote political stability, sectarian reconciliation, and functioning state institutions. The answer is unequivocally, "no."" Fellow Stephen Biddle argued that "Monday's testimony yielded a mixed picture".[29]

Thomas Engelhardt wrote in

Multi-National Force-Iraq spokesperson saying that "There is a current effort to consolidate multiple databases in theater".[31]

Three other reports on the current situation in Iraq—a General Accounting Office study, a National Intelligence Estimate, and an independent commission assessment by retired general James L. Jones—were published for Congress around the same time as Petraeus' report. USA Today compared the four reports' findings.[32] The New York Times also did so.[33]

In December 2007,

non-partisan Brookings Institution stated in January 2008 that Iraq's security environment had reached its best levels since early 2004 and credited Petraeus' strategy for the improvement.[35] They considered Iraq's economy and political system to be "only marginally better than a year ago".[35] O'Hanlon stated that month that "Overall, Iraq's political system probably merits a grade of roughly C for its performance over the last 12 months."[36] He also stated that "the pace of progress is finally picking up."[36] U.S. News & World Report stated that Iraq has experienced a "dramatic drop in violence and other signs of progress in recent months" and also stated that the "political divisions in Iraq remain deep, and if they are not bridged soon, civil war could well erupt again."[37]

Public opinion

United States public opinion

The Wall Street Journal has stated the report decreased public discontent with the war in Iraq, but the changes were "modest".[38] USA Today has stated, in contrast, that "attitudes toward the war have solidified".[39] A Fox News poll taken from September 11 to 12 reported that 49% of Americans believe "the recent increase in U.S. troops has led to major improvements in the situation in Iraq, [or] minor improvements" while 48% disagree and 3% felt unsure. It also found that 35% considered Petraeus's report "truthful and objective", 40% considered it "slanted", and 25% felt unsure. The poll had a 3% margin of error.[40]

An early September CNN poll found that 53% did not believe the General's report would be "independent and objective"; an August USA Today poll stated the same thing.[41] A mid-September Pew Research Center survey found that, of everyone who has heard of his report, 57% support his recommendations. The survey also stated that 32% of Americans have not heard of the report and that, overall, the President's address and Petraeus' report did not change minds about the surge.[42] Another Pew Research Center survey found that 18% of Americans want to remove all troops immediately, 18% support a gradual withdrawal over the next two years, 39% support keeping troops in, and 7% feel unsure.[43] A late-September ABC News poll asked about Petraeus' recommendations without mentioning him by name. The poll reported that 43% of Americans think the number of troops should be reduced "more quickly", 12% "more slowly", and 38% agree with the recommendations.[40]

An early February 2008

Gallup Poll found that 60% of Americans believe the decision to invade Iraq was a mistake.[44] The poll also found that 43% think that the troop increase is "making the situation there better".[44]

Iraqi public opinion

Shia do.[47] Another BBC poll found that only 35% of Iraqis supported an immediate withdrawal of coalition troops. The remainder thought the forces should stay until it met its goals regarding the security situation or its goals in strengthening the Government of Iraq.[48]

See also

References

  1. ^
    New York Times
    . Published September 11, 2007.
  2. ^ "Top General May Propose Pullbacks." Los Angeles Times. Published August 15, 2007. Retrieved September 10, 2007.
  3. ^ "Report to Congress on the Situation in Iraq." United States Department of Defense central website. Released September 10, 2007. Retrieved September 10, 2007.
  4. ^ "Report to Congress on the Situation in Iraq: Ambassador Crocker." 10 Sept 2007. retrieved 10 September 2007.
  5. ^ "Dems Bash Upcoming Petraeus Report". ABC News. February 12, 2009.
  6. ^ https://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070912/ap_on_go_co/us_iraq;_ylt=AnBCfjVD3A8VO2KEOTCURaKs0NUE [dead link]
  7. ^ a b MarketWatch. "Text of Democratic response to president's address".
  8. ^ Petraeus Warns Against Quick Pullback in Iraq News Graphic
  9. ^ "Senator Jon Kyl Press Office". Archived from the original on July 27, 2010.
  10. ^ "Political Junkie: The Impact of the Iraq Reports". NPR.
  11. ^ "Fact Sheet: "Return On Success" Guiding Principle For Troop Levels In Iraq". georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov.
  12. ^ Michaels, Jim (September 10, 2007). "Comparing four views on Iraq situation". USA Today. Retrieved May 22, 2010.
  13. ^ "GAO-07-1195 Securing, Stabilizing, and Rebuilding Iraq: Iraqi Government Has Not Met Most Legislative, Security, and Economic Benchmarks" (PDF).
  14. ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on February 27, 2008. Retrieved February 20, 2008.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  15. ^ "Defining 'Benchmarks' in Iraq - Council on Foreign Relations". Archived from the original on November 12, 2008. Retrieved September 29, 2007.
  16. ^ "See You in September, Whatever That Means". The New York Times. May 13, 2007. Retrieved May 22, 2010.
  17. ^ "Petraeus Says Force Cuts Not Dependent on Benchmarks (Update1)". Bloomberg. September 14, 2007.
  18. ^ "Bush Tells Nation He Will Begin to Roll Back 'Surge'" in The Washington Post
  19. ^ "Operation Iraqi Gloss-Over". Archived from the original on October 3, 2007. Retrieved September 25, 2007.
  20. ^ a b "Iraq needs US troops for deterrence: minister" Archived 2008-07-20 at the Wayback Machine. AFP. Published February 16, 2008.
  21. ^ "Ad Against Petraeus Strikes a Nerve". ABC News. July 2, 2019. Archived from the original on September 13, 2007.
  22. ^ "General Betray Us?". WaPo Fact Checker.
  23. ^ "U.S. Senate: U.S. Senate Roll Call Votes 110th Congress - 1st Session". www.senate.gov.
  24. ^ "Senate Votes to Condemn MoveOn for Ad Attacking General Petraeus". Fox News. September 21, 2007.
  25. ^ "Congress.gov - Library of Congress". thomas.loc.gov. Archived from the original on January 21, 2016. Retrieved August 14, 2021.
  26. ^ "Senate Condemns "General Betray Us" Ad". Associated Press. September 20, 2007.
  27. ^ Marre, Klaus (September 26, 2007). "House overwhelmingly condemns MoveOn ad". The Hill. Archived from the original on October 13, 2007. Retrieved September 26, 2007.
  28. ^ "Haass: Petraeus, Crocker Blunt Congressional Criticism on Iraq - Council on Foreign Relations". Archived from the original on March 20, 2008. Retrieved September 29, 2007.
  29. ^ "CFR Fellows Respond to Iraq Testimony - Council on Foreign Relations". Archived from the original on February 8, 2008.
  30. ^ Engelhardt, Tom (September 10, 2007). "Iraq Progress: By the Numbers". The Nation. Archived from the original on September 18, 2007. Retrieved August 23, 2023.
  31. ^ DeYoung, Karen (September 25, 2007). "What Defines a Killing as Sectarian?". The Washington Post. Retrieved May 22, 2010.
  32. ^ "Comparing four views on Iraq situation" by Jim Michaels in USA Today on September 9, 2007
  33. ^ "Assessments of the War". The New York Times. September 10, 2007. Retrieved May 22, 2010.
  34. ^ "Most Revealing Fibs: Hillary Clinton". The Washington Post. Retrieved July 2, 2019.
  35. ^ a b "The State of Iraq: An Update". Brookings Institution. Published February 16, 2008.
  36. ^ a b "Iraq's Progress Report". Brookings Institution. Published January 27, 2008.
  37. ^ "Why David Petraeus Wants to Go Slowly on Troop Drawdowns". U.S. News & World Report. Published January 17, 2008.
  38. ^ Harwood, John (September 13, 2007). "Public Gives Bush Slight Reprieve". The Wall Street Journal.
  39. ^ Page, Susan (September 19, 2007). "Poll: Public not swayed by Petraeus". USA Today. Retrieved May 22, 2010.
  40. ^ a b "Iraq". www.pollingreport.com.
  41. ^ "Poll: Petraeus recommendations tough sell to Americans - CNN.com". CNN. September 10, 2007. Retrieved May 22, 2010.
  42. ^ "Petraeus' Proposals Favored, But No Lift in War Support". September 18, 2007.
  43. ^ "Dems Debate Iraq Withdrawal Timetable". September 27, 2007.
  44. ^ a b "Progress in Iraq reshapes debate over war". USA Today. Published February 18, 2008.
  45. ^ Rubin, Alissa J. (September 12, 2007). "For Iraqis, General's Report Offers Bitter Truth". The New York Times. Retrieved May 22, 2010.
  46. ^ "US surge has failed - Iraqi poll". BBC News. September 10, 2007. Retrieved May 22, 2010.
  47. ^ Childs, Nick (September 10, 2007). "Iraq poll makes for grim reading". BBC News. Retrieved May 22, 2010.
  48. ^ "Iraq Poll 2007" (PDF). BBC News. Retrieved May 22, 2010.

External links

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