One third of Baghdad or less is under control and we're three months away from September and David Petraeus' assessment. In fact planners assumed most Baghdad neighborhoods would be under control in another month.
In the remaining 311 neighborhoods, troops have either not begun operations aimed at rooting out insurgents or still face “resistance,” according to the one-page assessment, which was provided to The New York Times and summarized reports from brigade and battalion commanders in Baghdad.
The assessment offers the first comprehensive look at the progress of the effort to stabilize Baghdad with the heavy influx of additional troops.
The problem is Iraqis. They get in the way, they don't do what they're told to do. "...Iraqi police and army units, which were expected to handle basic security tasks, like manning checkpoints and conducting patrols, have not provided all the forces promised, and in some cases have performed poorly."
Then, too, Iraqi police and military sometimes work for both sides. One colonel, disturbed by costly attacks on his troops, set up a video camera in a particularly dangerous area.
When the video was examined after another attack, it showed two Iraqi policemen talking with companions, who were heard off-camera, apparently laying an explosive device. Minutes after the policemen were seen driving away, the camera showed a powerful bomb detonating as an American Humvee came into view.
Some of these bomb planters have access to the Green Zone.
