QUARTERLY IRAQ REPORT

Measuring Stability and Security in Iraq
JUNE 2008

(EXCERPTS)

Strong democratic institutions that impartially serve all Iraqis are critical to Iraq’s success. ... To date, however, progress has been inhibited by the unwillingness of the various factions in the CoR to compromise on key issues.

Elements of the MoD’s Strategic Infrastructure Battalions and the MoO’s Oil Protection Force, tasked with protecting infrastructure, are sometimes suspected of being complicit in interdiction and smuggling. As much as 70% of the fuel processed at Bayji was lost to the black market—possibly as much as US$2 billion a year.

The overall level of violence in Iraq this quarter remained similar to the previous reporting period but shifted location.

Outside Baghdad and Anbar, reductions in Coalition force presence and reliance upon local Iraqi security forces have resulted in a tenuous security situation.

The aggregate level of violence in Iraq remained relatively unchanged during this reporting period. Violence has decreased in the Baghdad security districts and Anbar, but has increased in most provinces, particularly in the outlying areas of Baghdad Province and Diyala and Ninewa Provinces.