Cleta Mitchell: “In January, Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki publicly committed to meeting a set of benchmarks, including quelling…”

“In January, Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki publicly committed to meeting a set of benchmarks, including quelling sectarian violence, disarming sectarian militias and developing a plan to share oil revenues equitably among all Iraqis. In May, Congress, in a bipartisan way, made clear that the Iraqi government should be held accountable for meeting those benchmarks and required the President to report on the Iraqi Government's progress in meeting those goals. That report, which was released today, demonstrates the President's surge is failing and that the Iraqi Government is failing to meet the benchmarks it agreed to meet 7 months ago. The Iraqi Government has not moved toward national reconciliation. This morning, we learned that Director of Central Intelligence General Michael Hayden, an accomplished four-star general, told the bipartisan Iraq Study Group 8 months ago that Iraq's leaders are 'unable to govern.' Now, the inability of the Iraqi Government to govern seems irreversible. If there is no functioning government in Iraq, how do we expect to fix the problems in that country militarily? We continue to see the serious consequences that result from that inability to govern. Sectarian violence has not been quelled; it continues to escalate. Sectarian militias have not been disarmed; they continue to wreak havoc. There has been no progress on a plan to share oil revenues equitably among all Iraqis.”