Washington – The Iraqi government is achieving only spotty military and political progress, the Bush administration conceded Thursday in an assessment that war critics quickly seized on as confirmation of their dire warnings.
Within hours, the House voted to withdraw U.S. troops by next spring.
The House measure passed 223-201 in the Democratic-controlled chamber despite a veto threat from President Bush, who has ruled out any change in war policy before September.
“The security situation in Iraq remains complex and extremely challenging,” the administration report concluded. The economic picture is uneven, it added, and the government has not yet enacted vital political reconciliation legislation.
As many as 80 suicide bombers per month cross into the country from Syria, said the interim assessment, which is to be followed by a fuller accounting in September from Gen. David Petraeus, the top U.S. military commander in the region.
“I believe we can succeed in Iraq, and I know we must,” Bush said at a White House news conference at which he stressed the interim nature of the report.
Describing a document produced by his administration at Congress’ insistence, he said there was satisfactory progress by the Iraqi government toward meeting eight of 18 so-called benchmarks, unsatisfactory progress on eight more and mixed results on the rest.
To his critics – including an increasing number of Republicans – he said bluntly, “I don’t think Congress ought to be running the war. I think they ought to be funding the troops.”
Democrats saw it differently.
A few hours after Bush’s remarks, Democratic leaders engineered passage of legislation requiring the withdrawal of U.S. combat troops to begin within 120 days, and to be completed by April 1. The measure envisions a limited residual force to train Iraqis, protect U.S. assets and fight al-Qaeda and other terrorists.
The vote generally followed party lines: 219 Democrats and four Republicans were in favor, and 191 Republicans and 10 Democrats were opposed.
Rep. Jo Ann Emerson, R-Mo., voted for troop withdrawals for the first time, contending that while she still opposes a swift pullout, “staying in Iraq indefinitely is equally unacceptable.”
“The report makes clear that not even the White House can conclude there has been significant progress,” said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif.
To Bush and others who seek more time for the administration’s policy to work, she said, “We have already waited too long.”
House Republicans sided with Bush – at least for now. The bill “undermines Gen. Petraeus, undermines the mission he has to make America and Iraq safe,” said the House GOP leader, Rep. John Boehner of Ohio. “What we have here is not leadership, it’s negligence.”
The 25-page administration report was issued in the fifth year of a war that has claimed the lives of more than 3,600 U.S. troops and is costing U.S. taxpayers an estimated $10 billion a month.
“Iraqis have provided the three brigades they promised for operations in and around Baghdad. And the Iraqi government is spending nearly $7.3 billion from its own funds this year to train, equip and modernize its forces,” Bush said.
But in other areas, he added, they “have much more work to do. For example, they’ve not done enough to prepare for local elections or pass a law to share oil revenues.”
The report was blunt at points and more opaque at others.
While Iraq has begun to show progress in providing services, “citizens nationwide complain about government corruption and the lack of essential services, such as electricity, fuel supply, sewer, water, health and sanitation.” At another point, it added, “The prerequisites for a successful militia disarmament program are not present.”
In addition to citing a Syrian connection for terrorists, it also said Iran has continued to foster instability in Iraq.
It cited measured progress on the economic front. “Unemployment has eased slightly and inflation is currently abating,” the report said. It omitted mention of a June 1 Pentagon report estimating an annual inflation rate at 33 percent and the Iraqi government estimate of joblessness at 17 percent.
In an evident jab at critics of Bush’s war policies, the report also said progress toward political reconciliation was hampered by “increasing concern among Iraqi political leaders that the United States may not have a long-term commitment to Iraq.”
Despite rising pressure from Republicans in Congress for a change in course, Bush was adamant.
“When we start drawing down our forces in Iraq, it will (be) because our military commanders say the conditions on the ground are right, not because pollsters say it’ll be good politics,” he said.
