Iraq Misses All Benchmarks

The Iraq government has failed to meet any of it's political, economic, and other reform targets. A US government official that will speed up the "pivot point" for dealing with US policyin Iraq -- from September to the middle of this month. That's when a federal assessment of progress in Iraq is due to Congress.

It comes at a time of Congressional GOP defections President Bush's Iraq policies. From the AP:

Also being drafted are several Republican-backed proposals that would force a new course in Iraq, including one by Sens. Susan Collins (R-MA), and Ben Nelson, (D-NE), that would require U.S. troops to abandon combat missions. Collins and Nelson say their binding amendment would order the U.S. mission to focus on training the Iraqi security forces, targeting al-Qaida members and protecting Iraq's borders.

Congress takes up a $649 billion defense bill later this week. It includes votes on a Democratic amendment to begin withdrawals within 120 days.