Iraq Progress is Satisfactory

It doesn't really matter who is elected President in November, That is because whoever it is will have his policy team dealing with one of the most frustrating realities in Iraq. That is the slow pace that their government in Baghdad operates. Vital to U.S. interests is Iraq's political and military success. This will depend on whether the troops stay or go. Measurable progress has been made by the Iraqi government in recent months but the pace is so achingly slow. The White House sees the progress in a particularly positive light declaring that Iraq's efforts on 15 of 18 benchmarks are satisfactory. That is almost twice what it was a year ago.