middleeast

=HAWK'S EYE on the MIDDLE EAST= Rachel & Emma

__**American P.O.V.**__
 * General Petraeus says in a letter sent on Friday to US troops in Iraq that though the progress is "encouraging", it is also "uneven"--the offensive system designed to tamp down on insurgent and sectarian violence and create "breathing space for Iraqi political leaders" isn't working because they are not taking advantage of the opportunity--their fault for US efforts being insufficien
 * Democrats and some Republicans in Congress have issues with Bush's war policy and demanded a timetable for this "war on terror"--but Bush vetoed this--Bush composed "benchmarks" in which both the US and Iraqi government will have to meet--though Bush reported that Iraq's government is making progress, the head of the Government Accountability Office, Comptroller General David A. Walker, revealed that the Iraqi government has failed to meet 11 out of 18 benchmarks and their government is "dysfunctional"
 * judging from the rate of progress and the state of the Iraqi government, there is a unequivocal need for a new strategy


 * __Iraqi P.O.V.__**
 * 70% of Iraqis believe
 * security has deteriorated since Bush announced his "surge" to end the probelm quckly 6 monthes ago
 * security in the areas where the surge has been sent has worsene
 * conditions of political dialogue have worsened
 * Iraqi government can't do it's work
 * the pace of Iraqis government reconstruction
 * te pace of economic development of Iraq
 * The Iraqi government is beyond Gen. Petraeus because they don't want us to leave. If we leave Iraq will fall into bitter civil war and the Iraqi government will be indanger of being toppled.




 * Ms. T comments**: this is a good accounting of what is occurring over here. I'm wondering what the word on the street in the Middle East---particularly in Iraq itself---to these hearing. Let's see what we can find. Why do you think this is such a big story for the region? This is really the larger question that will come out of your report. What does it tell you about who the players are in the region? How much of the politics in this region is affected by decisions the US makes? How do they feel about it. The goal will be to take your story and put it into a broader context and tap into some bigger questions.

Some additional sources of information:
 * BBC: "[|US Surge Has Failed: Iraqi Poll"] (9-10-07)
 * BBC, "[|The Iraqi Poll in Graphics"] (9-10-07)
 * Google World News has LOTS of stories offering a different perspective from the US versions: http://news.google.com/?ned=us&ncl=1120602282&hl=en&topic=w