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Jones testified to the US Congress of "tactical success" in Baghdad.

The briefing from Jones comes in the wake of a leaked report from the General Accounting Office, with the pessimistic finding that out of eighteen Congressional benchmarks set to measure progress in Iraq, only three have been met. Both the GAO report and the Commission’s report will provide context for the testimony expected from General David Petraeus next week, when the White House issues its own account of surge results.

The Commission has clearly come away with a far different interpretation than the GAO. While Jones is diplomatic in his testimony, his message is clear: the surge is working.

Retired General James Jones is the Chairman of the Independent Commission on Security Forces of Iraq.

• Securing, Stabilizing and Rebuilding Iraq: Iraqi Government Has Not Met Most Legislative, Security, and Economic Benchmarks PDF from the General Accounting Office
• Statement from David M. Walker, Comptroller General of the United States, PDF summarizing the GAO report
  
  
  Do you agree with General Jones? Many A-C members support the surge too, as you can see once you vote in the poll on the right. But there are other plans out there—get a detailed comparison here and have your say with a comment below.
  
  
  Related Materials from the Atlantic Community:
  
  
• The Atlantic Community Editorial Team on Iraq: Who’s Got The Best Plan?
• James Glanz and Stephen Farrell report that Number Of Displaced Iraqis Soars After US Troop Increase
• Karen DeYoung and Thomas E. Ricks say Leaked Iraq Draft Contradicts Expected Results From White House
• Gareth Stansfield says we must Accept A Divided Iraq
• Thomas Speckmann on Why America Wants to Iraqize Afghanistan
  
  
  

  Prepared by Casey Butterfield