Earlier today we flagged an item in the Los Angeles Times suggesting that Iraqi PM Nouri al-Maliki wasn’t going to meet certain political “benchmarks” that President Bush said he would “hold the Iraqi government” to meeting. I spoke with a White House official — who declined to be named — for reaction, and I was referred to a statement Ryan Crocker, the U.S. Ambassador to Iraq, made to Fox News this past Sunday:
Prime Minister Maliki has been reaching out to other communities represented within the government — a meeting with the presidential council, with the Political Council for National Security, for example. Right now, the Iraqis are engaged in some intensive negotiations on the hydrocarbon laws. They’ve made a lot of progress over the last week. Clearly, they have a great distance to go, but I’ve been encouraged by the fact that all parties, all communities, are willing to engage in the process to sit down around a table and try to work through issues to a successful conclusion and compromise.
The White House official — who declined to be quoted by named — added:
“The Iraqi leadership understands the need for their government to meet certain benchmarks and is dedicated to achieving those benchmarks. There are challenges, and we are working with Iraqis on the ground and consulting regularly from Washington to make progress. The President just today talked about the fact that Iraq’s political leaders are working hard and have made progress on certain fronts.”
Yet not a single deadline for the Iraqi government spelled out by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice in her January letterto Sen. Carl Levin (D-MI) has been met. If this is “progress,” what would stagnation look like?
Asked for further comment about the status of Iraqi benchmarks, a Levin aide reaffirmed that the annual defense authorization bill, approved on May 24, will include an amendment when it reaches the Senate floor mandating withdrawal from Iraq beginning 120 days after passage. A similar measure, included in the Iraq supplemental, failed last month after President Bush vetoed the bill. The defense bill is expected to be debated by the full Senate at the end of June.
