US report paints bleak picture of Iraq

WASHINGTON (AFP) - A new US report Thursday painted a bleak picture of progress by Iraq's government, heaping pressure on President George W. Bush as the House of Representatives voted again to bring troops home.

The Democratic-led House defied a new veto threat from the under-fire president, demanding the withdrawal of most US combat troops in Iraq to start within 120 days, and to be completed by April 1.

But Bush insisted America could still win the four-year war, and warned a pull-back of the 160,000 US troops in the country would mean "surrendering the future of Iraq to Al-Qaeda" and spawn chaos throughout the Middle East.

The White House's interim report into Bush's plan to surge an extra 30,000 more troops into Iraq found satisfactory progress by the Baghdad government on only eight of 18 security and political benchmarks set by Congress.

Bush said however he still had "confidence" in Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki.

He vowed to make no final judgments about the plan until he had received a definitive study by US commander in Iraq General David Petraeus in September.

"I believe we can succeed in Iraq, and I know we must," Bush said at a news conference dominated by the war, which has now killed 3,612 US troops.

The report revealed efforts by Iraq to get its armed forces operating independently of US units -- a key goal of the US administration -- had made "unsatisfactory progress."

Among other judgments, the report said "the prerequisites for a successful militia disarmament program are not present" in Iraq.

Baghdad had made "unsatisfactory" progress on legislation explicitly endorsed by Washington as central to efforts to quiet sectarian violence.

There was more optimism on the situation in some regions, like Anbar province, echoing recent US statements that local tribal leaders had turned sharply against members of Al-Qaeda.

And the report said "satisfactory" progress had been made towards reducing sectarian violence, though not yet to acceptable levels.

Bush defended his decisions on Iraq.

"I will be able to say, I looked in the mirror and made decisions based upon principle, not based upon politics," Bush said.

"Everybody wants to be loved -- just sometimes the decisions you make and the consequences don't enable you to be loved."

But Democrats went on the attack.

"It is clear that there is now a state of chaos in Iraq. And it is up to the Iraqi people to make themselves safe," said Senate Majority leader Harry Reid.

"We can't do it. It's time the training wheels come off and they take care of their own country."

His colleague, Senator Dick Durbin said: "It's sad to say, President Bush is out of touch ... with the reality of the war in Iraq."

Senator Hillary Clinton, a Democratic presidential candidate, also weighed in saying, "even the president's own portrait cannot paint over the reality on the ground: our strategy in Iraq is failing."

But Bush had a blunt message for lawmakers, hours before the House of Representatives passed its latest withdrawal timeline.

"I don't think Congress ought to be running the war," he said.

The House voted by 223 votes to 201 to pass the measure, but the Republican coalition stayed intact: only four party members voted with the Democrats.

Bush pledged to send Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Secretary of Defense Robert Gates to the Middle East in August to consult US allies on the conflict.

Both cabinet heavy hitters had postponed foreign trips to launch an intense lobbying effort of wavering lawmakers, after several key Republican senators broke with Bush in recent weeks.

Rice "thinks it is important to keep those lines of communication open," said her spokesman Sean McCormack.

A similar bill to the one passed by the House is being debated in the Senate, but both approaches mirror earlier initiatives which Bush blocked. He signaled again Thursday he would veto any new troop withdrawal timelines.

It remains uncertain whether Democrats have won over enough Republicans to overcome the 60-vote hurdle in the 100-seat Senate needed to defeat Republican spoiling tactics.

And troop withdrawal timelines have almost no chance of becoming law as the Democrats are well short of the two-thirds majority needed to override a veto.