The “F” Grade

Anthony Cordesman says he can only give the Pentagon a grade of “F” for its most recent quarterly report on the situation in Iraq. The veteran defense analyst of the Center for Strategic and International Studies decries the report as “deeply flawed” with “basic analytical and statistical mistakes.” Cordesman offers a 14-page rebuttal, attacking point after point, of a report he calls both “dishonest and incompetent.” His bottom line: If the “high risk strategy” for Iraq stands “any chance of success,” it must have “bipartisan persistence and sustained US effort. This requires trust, and trust cannot [be] built without integrity.” (Cordesman has his own analysis of the Iraq experience.)