WASHINGTON, April 8 - An internal staff report by the United States Embassy and the military
command in Baghdad provides a sobering province-by-province snapshot of Iraq's political,
economic and security situation, rating the overall stability of 6 of the 18 provinces
"serious" and one "critical."
The report is a counterpoint to some recent upbeat public statements by top American
politicians and military officials.
The report's capsule summaries of each province offer some surprisingly gloomy news. The
report's formula for rating stability takes into account governing, security and economic
issues. The oil-rich Basra Province, where British troops have patrolled in relative calm
for most of the last three years, is now rated as "serious." The report defines "serious" as
having "a government that is not fully formed or cannot serve the needs of its residents;
economic development that is stagnant with high unemployment, and a security situation
marked by routine violence, assassinations and extremism." There is a "high level of militia
activity including infiltration of local security forces," the report says. "Smuggling and
criminal activity continues unabated. Intimidation attacks and assassination are common."
The "critical" security designation, the report says, means a province has "a government
that is not functioning" or that is only "represented by a single strong leader"; "an
economy that does have the infrastructure or government leadership to develop and is a
significant contributor to instability"; and "a security situation marked by high levels of
AIF [anti-Iraq forces] activity, assassinations and extremism."
The most surprising assessments are perhaps those of the nine southern provinces, none of
which are rated "stable." The Bush administration often highlights the relative lack of
violence in those regions.
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/04/09/world/middleeast/09report.html
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