The long awaited assessment of the state of affairs in Iraq by the US commander of the US forces in Iraq, General David Petraeus, is neither surprising nor earth shattering.

It was but expected that under any and all circumstances, the military strata would stand in defence of its rank and file and praise the troops' performance on the battlefields of Iraq.

Petraeus in his testimony, tried to demonstrate a confidence that was supported by numbers and figures while drawing a rosy picture of what has thus far been taking place in Iraq. According to his assessment, the war of four years has undoubtedly managed to help the US to stand on the winning side. This "achievement" according to him, was possible to have been attained only because of the "surge" tactic of sending in additional troops, which had been ordered by President George W. Bush.

In the mind of Petraeus and the Bush administration, the decision was undoubtedly fruitful and wise. "We will be able to return to pre-surge levels by next summer, without jeopardising the security gains we fought so hard to achieve", Petraeus said.

Triumphantly, he laid the claim that Al Qaida in Iraq has not been defeated yet, but has certainly been thrown "off-balance". He cited the "dramatic decreases" in sectarian killings in Al Anbar province as an example of success. Petraeus had went on to warn that a premature pullout of US forces from Iraq, would open the way for a resurgence of Al Qaida.

But putting matters into perspective, the scene in Iraq is certainly not as rosy or promising as it had been outlined. For one thing, the credit of warding off Al Qaida operatives in Al Anbar for instance, is due not solely to the efforts of the American troops. Rather, it is credited to the tribal leaders who had agreed on forging an alliance with the US forces against Al Qaida fighters.

Putting matters out of their true perspective is indeed a craft that the current American administration has mastered whenever the topic of Iraq's status came to the fore. How things are perceived, are surely relative to the party that is analysing or assessing it.

Resurgence

Sectarian violence may have well decreased in one province, but it has also witnessed a resurgence and expansion in other provinces. The positive assessment of Petraeus could not be seen therefore in isolation of its timing. The Bush administration would be attempting in the coming few weeks to secure additional time for it to put together an acceptable and the least embarrassing plan for an exit from Iraq. Undoubtedly, Petraeus assessment was presented purely for an internal consumption within his country as many had been eagerly awaiting its final conclusion. The ground reality in Iraq is definitely bleak as much as uncertain. There is an almost total collapse of general services being on offer for the general population. In addition, there are still high numbers of deaths among Iraqi civilians - ones that are being caused by sectarian attacks as well as by insurgent attacks on coalition forces.

Similarly, coalition attacks on insurgents and that of Iraqi military and police have also caused much deaths and casualties among civilians. The United Nations Assistance Mission in Iraq (Unami) estimates that in 2006, a total of 34,452 civilians were killed while more than 36,000 were wounded.

In fact, it is this sectarian violence across many of Iraq's provinces that have forced many Iraqis to leave their country and seek refuge in safer places. The United Nations refugee body, the International Organisation for Migration, estimates that the number of Iraqis living outside of Iraq has tipped a total of about two million.

Furthermore, the lack of a tight level of security across many parts of Iraq has turned the country into a first-rate breeding ground for a variety of armed groups to exist, operate and thrive. By its own account, the US military estimates put the number of insurgents between 8,000 and 20,000 as of last year. Iraqi intelligence officers though put the number at 40,000 fighters in addition to a total of 160,000 supporters.

In giving a narrow one-sided perspective, Petraeus has simply followed in the footsteps of the Bush administration when it came to assessing the situation in Iraq. And once again, this entire testimony has brought into question the legitimacy, authority and reliability of the American administration in handling the situation in the country.

Iraq is in a state of crisis that is bloody, violent, chaotic and marred by sectarian divides. Riding on such a state to achieve political gains is dangerous and risky for building a nation requires much more than the number count.