of people have been forced to rely on insufficient supplies of poor-quality water as water and sewage systems suffer from a lack of maintenance and a shortage of engineers . '' The Bush administration and many Republican lawmakers , including presidential candidate Sen. John McCain , have frequently praised successes in Iraq in recent months , noting improvements in security in key areas . They attribute that in part to the buildup of U.S. troops in Iraq ordered by President Bush last year . Vice President Dick Cheney described the five year U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in a news conference Monday during a visit to Baghdad . `` This week marks the fifth anniversary , '' said Cheney . `` It has been a difficult , challenging , but none the less successful endeavor . '' Democrats , including presidential hopefuls Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama , have said the government failed to use the downturn in violence to achieve the steps it was supposed to make possible . Sen. John McCain met with Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki on Monday where he stressed the United States ' commitment to Iraq . `` We recognize that al Qaeda is on
-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- As the war in Iraq reaches its five-year anniversary this week , two of the world 's leading humanitarian groups issued extensive reports Monday describing a crisis of huge proportions with little reason for hope . Iraqi women mourn the death of their relative outside the morgue in the restive city of Baquba , Iraq , on March 12 . `` Despite claims that the security situation has improved in recent months , the human rights situation is disastrous , '' Amnesty International says in its report , titled `` Carnage and Despair : Iraq Five Years On . '' In a summary of the report , Amnesty writes that `` a climate of impunity has prevailed , the economy is in tatters and the refugee crisis '' keeps escalating . The International Committee of the Red Cross , in a report titled `` Iraq : No Let-up in the Humanitarian Crisis , '' writes , `` Despite limited improvements in security in some areas , armed violence is still having a disastrous impact . Civilians continue to be killed in the hostilities . `` The injured often do not receive adequate medical care . Millions