EDITORIAL - The government of Iraq has failed to meet 15 of 18 benchmarks contained in the US Troop Readiness, Veterans' Care, Katrina Recovery, and Iraq Accountability Appropriations Act of 2007.

The Act requires the Government Accountability Office to report on the status of the achievement of these benchmarks. Consistent with GAO's core values and the analysts desire to be fair and balanced, the agency also considered and used a "partially met" rating for some of the Iraq government benchmarks.

In comparison, the Act requires the Bush Administration to report on whether satisfactory progress is being made toward meeting the mandated benchmarks. The benchmarks cover Iraqi government actions needed to advance reconciliation within Iraqi society, improve the security of the Iraqi population, provide essential services to the population, and promote economic well-being.

To complete this work, GAO analysts reviewed US agency and Iraqi documents and interviewed officials from the Departments of Defense, State, and the Treasury Department; the Multi-National Force-Iraq (MNF-I) and its subordinate commands; the Defense Intelligence Agency; the Central Intelligence Agency; the National Intelligence Council; and even the United Nations.

These officials included Ryan Crocker, the US Ambassador to Iraq, and General David H. Petraeus, Commander of the Multi-National Force-Iraq. GAO investigators and analysts made multiple visits to Iraq during 2006 and 2007, the most recent being from July 22 to August 1, 2007. The GAO analyses were enhanced by approximately 100 Iraq-related reports and testimonies that were completed since May 2003. The GAO conducted its review in accordance with generally accepted government auditing standards.

The benchmarks were derived from commitments first articulated by the Iraqi government in June 2006. Sadly, according to the GAO report, the Iraqi government met only 3, partially met 4, and did not meet 11 of its 18 benchmarks.

Overall, key legislation has not been passed, violence remains high, and it is unclear whether the Iraqi government will spend $10 billion in reconstruction funds. These results do not diminish the courageous efforts of coalition forces and progress that has been made in several areas, including Anbar Province.

The Iraqi government met one of eight legislative benchmarks: the rights of minority political parties in Iraq's legislature are protected. However, the Iraqi government has not enacted legislation on de-Ba'athification, oil revenue sharing, provincial elections, amnesty, and militia disarmament.

It is still unclear whether sectarian violence in Iraq has decreased -- a key security benchmark -- since it is difficult to measure whether the perpetrators' intents were sectarian in nature, and other measures of population security show differing trends.

As the US Congress considers the way forward in Iraq, it should balance the achievement of the 18 Iraqi benchmarks with military progress and with homeland security goals, foreign policy goals, and other goals of the United States.