After Five Years: the Iraqi Government No Where Near in Control

On Sunday, Secretary Gates appeared on CBS's Face the Nation and said, "Eight provinces in Iraq are already under provincial control, where there are either no coalition forces or they are...not involved in combat."

Iraq is divided into 18 provinces and has an estimated population of 27.5 million people. The U.S. has transferred control of 8 provinces to Iraqi Government control.

While the administration applauds this statistic as "progress being made," they leave out the fact that these 8 provinces have a combined population of only 6.5 million people.

After five years, more than 4,000 American lives lost, and over $535 billion spent, less than 25% of the Iraqi population is under Iraqi control.

The American people deserve more than "progress is being made" rhetoric. They deserve the facts.