The Defense Department is making good progress on the drawdown of U.S. forces in Iraq, but several issues still must play out for the transition to succeed, according to a Nov. 2 report by the Government Accountability Office. DoD needs to formulate better plans for contracting needs, determine if some contract costs “outweigh potential benefits,” and allocate more personnel to oversee contracts. “Key decisions about the disposition of some equipment have yet to be made,” the report also stated. The GAO also raised concerns about information technology systems incompatibility, which may raise cause problems with the equipment retrograde process. And DoD should address the issue of keeping tabs of inventory as it is placed in containers and shipped. The GAO plans to continue monitoring the drawdown progress.