Bloomberg:

The Bush administration last week touted the end of a four- month deadlock on forming an Iraqi government as a major step toward the planned drawdown of U.S. troops. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld visited Baghdad to give what they said was a clear message that it's time for Iraqis to take control of their destiny.

[The Iraqis who were in charge wanted to know who the heck invited R&R to come over, anyway - they were afraid that R&R would damage their credibility!]

Bowen's report offers a dismal forecast of what might be left behind when the U.S. leaves, said Michael O'Hanlon, an analyst at the Brookings Institution in Washington who has studied the U.S. effort to rebuild Iraq.

``The bottom line is that infrastructure and quality-of-life indicators in Iraq are not getting better,'' he said. ``So much effort is being put in for so little progress.''

Hattip: Atrios