Specifics from the Speech

Pulling specifics from this administration is like pulling teeth. From tonight's speech, there was a lot of rhetoric (I would argue rhetoric is somewhat important), a lot of justifying the fight and attempting to show progress so far. There was also an attempt to show why certain opposition arguments are wrong.

In the midst of all this, there were a few specifics about our actions for the future. I tried to pull from the speech specific actions the president promised along with metrics and benchmarks to measure progress on each of those. This was just a brief attempt, but I figured it would be a worthwhile exercise.

Starting with the training of troops

Today Iraqi security forces are at different levels of readiness. Some are capable of taking on the terrorists and insurgents by themselves. A larger number can plan and execute anti-terrorist operations with coalition support. The rest are forming and not yet ready to participate fully in security operations. Our task is to make the Iraqi units fully capable and independent. We are building up Iraqi security forces as quickly as possible, so they can assume the lead in defeating the terrorists and insurgents.

Actions to be taken (based on this paragraph):

• Bring all Iraqi troops up to the point where they can execute counter-terror operations independent of US and coalition force.
  

Metrics for success:

• The number of Iraqi troops.
• Three levels of training into which we can classify them.

Questions to be asked by Members of Congress and the media:

• We currently have 160,000 Iraqi troops, how many do we believe we need?
• What percentage of the current 160,000 troops are fully trained? What percentages are at the other two levels?
  

The president did lay out three specific actions that the US is taking to help this training.

Actions to be taken:

1. Partnering coalition units with Iraqi units and conduct joint operations in the field.
2. Embed transition teams into Iraqi units to offer advice during battle and during training periods.
3. Work with Iraqi Ministry of Interior and Defense to
   
1. Create command and control structures and
   
2. Provide leadership training both civilians and military within those two ministries.

Metrics for success:

• Not sure on this one, although the questions may help flesh that out.

Questions to be asked by Members of Congress and the media:

• What are the metrics for success for each of these three actions?
• How many transition teams are we currently embedding and how many do we hope to embed in the near future?
• What percentage of our units are participating in joint-operations? How has this affected the success or failure of the operations?
• Who is providing leadership training at the Ministries of Defense and Interior? Are these contractors? What specific actions are they taking in these trainings.
• Beyond the three steps offered by the president in the speech, can the administration provide any others.

Actions for the Iraqis to take

• Create institutions for free society including minority rights and independent judiciary.
  
• Write constitution with the input of all sectors of society.
• Hold a referendum on the constitution.
• Hold a new election for a new government.
• Meet the timetable for these goals.
  

Metrics for success:

• Greater participation in the political process (Higher voter turnout?)
• More confidence in the military (poll numbers?)
• Higher numbers of intelligence tips from Iraqis.
• Are they meeting the timetable and if not how far off are they?
  

Questions for Members of Congress and the media:

• Do we have current measurements on all these metrics to use as a baseline?
• Are we likely to meet the timetable?
• If we do not meet the timetable, how will that affect the president's view of US presence.
  

As I said, those are the forward looking specific actions and benchmarks I could pull from the president's half hour speech. If I'm missing any, send me an e-mail to let me know. I'm also interested to see how Congress and the media follow up on these.

UPDATE: I should have also included our continuing mission to capture or kill terrorists. It was so self-evident, I missed it. However, in needing metrics, sheer numbers probably does not work. In Iraq the question needs to be "Are we capturing or killing more terrorists than are being recruited inside the country or entering by crossing the border?"