Astonishing news overnight tonight, as the Washington Post is reporting that they have obtained a copy of a report on Iraq benchmarks from the Government Accountability Office that the paper describes as "strikingly negative" and "stark." According to the GAO, "Iraq has failed to meet all but three of 18 congressionally mandated benchmarks for political and military progress," and goes on to question "whether some aspects of a more positive assessment by the White House last month adequately reflected the range of views the GAO found within the administration."
This is hardly the first time the White House has found itself at odds with the GAO. As early as 2002, the GAO battled Bush over documents related to Dick Cheney's closed door energy policy meetings. In 2005, the GAO determined that the administration "violated the law by buying favorable news coverage of President Bush's education policies." Similarly, the GAO has sparred with the executive branch over environmental assessments, signing statements, and Medicare cost estimate disclosures.
So, with all of that as prologue, it's not entirely surprising that the Office, with this report in hand, would choose to act pre-emptively in disclosing it to the Post. Still, the reasoning behind the leak is worth noting:
The person who provided the draft report to The Post said it was being conveyed from a government official who feared that its pessimistic conclusions would be watered down in the final version -- as some officials have said happened with security judgments in this month's National Intelligence Estimate on Iraq. Congress requested the GAO report, along with an assessment of the Iraqi security forces by an independent commission headed by retired Marine Gen. James L. Jones, to provide a basis for comparison with the administration's scorecard.
So, in the end, the GAO reckoned that the White House couldn't be trusted to refrain from doctoring this report.
All of this arrives in advance of a scheduled assessment from the White House itself, which will come bundled with hotly anticipated testimony from General David Petraeus. As the Post relates, "They are expected to describe significant security improvements and offer at least some promise for political reconciliation in Iraq."
Of course, it is impossible to predict just what sort of damage this leak will do to the President's plan to construct a bulwark of rosy scenarios between now and the middle of September. Still, this leak comes at a fitting time: two years after Katrina, it's President Bush who potentially finds himself on the wrong side of a busted levee.
Related:Report Finds Little Progress On Iraq Goals [Washington Post]