Neutering the GAO

Apropos this post, the Associated Press reports:

The [White House] memo argues that the GAO will not present a “true picture” of the situation in Iraq because the standards were “designed to lock in failure,” according to portions of the document read to the AP by an official who has seen it.

But, as Faiz points out, those standards were rigged from the beginning enthusiastically applauded by the president when the Congress set them back in May.

This important bill [war supplemental + benchmarks] also provides a clear roadmap to help the Iraqis secure their country and strengthen their young democracy. Iraqis need to demonstrate measurable progress on a series of benchmarks for improved security, political reconciliation, and governance. These tasks will be difficult for this young democracy, but we are confident they will continue to make progress on the goals they have set for themselves.