Excellent questions.
Senators Reid, Kennedy, Biden, Rockefeller, Levin, and Reed sent a letter yesterday to John Negroponte requesting a new National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) on Iraq. Questions they posed:
-- Sectarianism: Is Iraq in or descending into a civil war? What factors will prevent or reverse deterioration of the sectarian situation?-- Security: Is Iraq succeeding in standing up effective security forces? What factors will increase the chances of that occurring? To what extent are militias providing security in Iraq? To what extent has the Government of Iraq developed and implemented a credible plan to disarm and demobilize and reintegrate militias into government security forces? To what extent is the Government of Iraq working to obtain a political commitment from political parties to ban militias?
-- Terrorism: What is the threat from violent extremist- related terrorism, including Al Qaeda, in and from Iraq? What factors will address the terrorist threat?
-- Political Development: Is Iraq succeeding in creating a stable and effective unity government? What is the likelihood that changes to the constitution will be made to address concerns of the Sunni community? What factors will increase the chances of that occurring?
-- Economic Reconstruction: Is Iraq succeeding in rebuilding its economy and creating economic prosperity for Iraqis? What factors will increase the chances of that occurring?
-- Iraq's Future: According to press accounts, the 2004 NIE contained analysis on three possible scenarios for Iraq's stability through the end of 2005. What are the scenarios through 2007?
-- US Force Posture: In what ways is the large-scale presence of multi-national forces helping or hindering Iraqis' chances of success?
I would love to hear some answers to these questions other than 'stay the course'. But don't expect that NIE on Iraq anytime soon.