Iraqis 'Fail to Meet Benchmarks'

Congressional auditors say most key goals unfulfilled

By Peter Fearon, Newser Staff

Posted Aug 30, 2007 4:37 AM CDT

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Iraqis 'Fail to Meet Benchmarks' — Residents look at what remains of a car that was used in a attack in the neighborhood of Mansour in western Baghdad, Iraq on Wednesday, Aug. 29, 2007. The car bomb that exploded on Wednesday killed one civilian and injured 4 others. (AP Photo/Khalid Mohammed) (Associated Press)

The Iraqi government has failed to meet most of the key political and military goals—the so called benchmarks—designed to measure the success of the US troop surge, congressional auditors say. An investigation by the Government Accountability Office has concluded that 13 of the 18 benchmarks remain unmet as a Sept. 15 deadline looms, the AP reports.

Lawmakers are due to be briefed on the report today. The White House moved swiftly to counter its impact, saying it fails to take account of progress toward goals that have not been fully met. "A lot of them are multi-part and so even if 90% of it is done, it's still a failure," one official said. (More Iraq stories.)

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