More Iraq progress: 15 of 18 benchmarks met... violence continues to drop

A new assessment shows Iraq has met 15 of 18 benchmarks. This is amazing progress, since only last September the GAO reported just 3 of 18 benchmarks were met.

Violence in Iraq continues to fall. In June, 29 US soldiers were killed, up slightly over the previous month. By comparison, during June 2007, 101 US soldiers were killed. For civilians, the violence is hovering at four-year lows.

The people of Iraq are noticing the difference. In the photo below, Iraqi Prime Minister al-Maliki (L) talks to residents in a market during a visit to Amara, 300 km (185 miles) southeast of Baghdad, on June 23rd. them. (Photo: Reuters handout photo/Iraqi government office.)
Harry "This war is lost" Reid was unavailable for comment. So was Hillary "We cannot win" Clinton.

Related:
Shhhhhhhh! The US has won - or is about to win - the Iraq war