President George W. Bush and his generals appealed last night for more time to allow his troop increase to work in Iraq, but a US Senate ally said September was still pivotal for evaluating the strategy.
Mr Bush criticized Congress for preparing to leave for an August break without passing a defense policy bill that, among other things, would provide for a pay raise for military personnel and more equipment for the war.
"I also ask Congress to give our troops time to carry out our new strategy in Iraq," Mr Bush said at an appearance with veterans and military families at the White House.
Mr Bush spoke a day after Lt. Gen. Ray Odierno, the number two US commander in Iraq, said while a widely anticipated report in September will indicate how the troop increase is progressing, a fuller assessment would take until November.
Another general, Marine Corps Major Gen. Walter Gaskin, who commands US troops in Iraq's Anbar province, said Iraqi security forces will need at least two more years of mentoring and support.
The report due on September 15th from Gen. David Petraeus, the top US commander in Iraq, is considered central to the debate in Congress over whether to force a troop drawdown in Iraq.
Mr Bush has been trying to buy extra time for the troop increase he ordered in January, even though his own Republican Party has grown restive over the unpopular war.
He and his aides have tried do play down the September assessment as a progress report. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Republican and close Bush ally, said that report was crucial.
"September is the month that we're looking at," the Kentucky senator said. "There may be various generals or various politicians or others who want to mention some other key time, but I think the key time for the vast majority of my members is September."