ACTION

By John W. Lillpop


During an appearance on the Larry King show back in February 2010, Vice-President Joe Biden made headlines when he opined that the situation in Iraq would be a “great achievement” for the Obama Administration.

As reported, in part, at the reference, VP Biden said:

“I am very optimistic about -- about Iraq. I mean, this could be one of the great achievements of this administration. You're going to see 90,000 American troops come marching home by the end of the summer. You're going to see a stable government in Iraq that is actually moving toward a representative government.”
 

Fast forward to July 2011 where the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction released his assessment (see reference 2) which is far less optimistic that the Biden gushing:

"Iraq is a less safe place than it was one year ago as security deteriorates, an American watchdog warned on Saturday, just months ahead of a US withdrawal from the country.

The assessment by Stuart Bowen, the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction, contrasts markedly from the more optimistic view often voiced by senior US army officers who argue Iraqis can maintain internal security.

Bowen said efforts by the US embassy to train Iraq's fledgling police force would be "challenging."

While the military has been in charge of developing Iraq's policemen, that responsibility is being transferred to the US State Department.

"Iraq remains an extraordinarily dangerous place to work," Bowen said in the report published on Saturday. "It is less safe, in my judgment, than 12 months ago."

 

He added the transition of responsibility for reconstruction from the US military to the embassy was occurring "against the backdrop of a security situation in Iraq that continues to deteriorate."


Iraq less safe than it was 12 months ago?


How, even in the muddled minds of Barack Obama and Joe Biden, does that qualify as a “greater achievement”?


Ref 1: http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/washington/2010/02/joe-biden-update-larry-king-iraq-obama-sarah-palin.html

Ref 2: http://mahlersprodigalson.blogspot.com/2011/07/iraq-security-situation-now-worse-than.html