One day after the Government Accountability Office gave Iraqis failing grades or incompletes on 15 of 18 benchmarks they were supposed to meet, the Associated Press has obtained another grim assessment from the war zone. This one is from retired Gen. James Jones, and it concludes that Iraqi security forces "will be unable to fulfill their essential security responsibilities independently over the next 12-18 months."

The report, prepared by an independent commission established by Congress, says that there's "clear evidence" that Iraqi military forces are "developing the baseline infrastructures that lead to the successful formation of a national defense capability." However, the AP says, the report also finds that Baghdad's police force and the country's Ministry of Interior are plagued by "dysfunction."