According to White House spokesman Gordon Johndroe, the just released National Intelligence Estimate shows that the Bush Administration “strategy has improved the security environment, but that we still face tough challenges ahead.” He also said, in a press statement, that the Administration “continues to support the efforts of Prime Minister Maliki” in Iraq. Among the NIE’s key judgments: “There have been measurable but uneven improvements in Iraq’s security situation since … January 2007. … The level of overall violence, including attacks on and casualties among civilians, remains high; Iraq’s sectarian groups remain unreconciled; … Iraq’s political leaders remain unable to govern effectively.”
House lawmakers are encouraging the Air Force and U.S. Special Operations Command to work together as each pursues long-range, long-endurance reconnaissance drones. Both entities are investing in unmanned assets that can slip into highly defended areas, loiter over a particularly valuable target for days at a time, and traverse multiple…