Iraq has made only mixed progress towards fulfilling key political and military goals linked to an increase in American troop numbers there, according to a White House report published yesterday.
The report, which was ordered by Congress when it authorised the troop surge, said that the Iraqi government had made "satisfactory" progress towards meeting fewer than half of the benchmarks and predicted "tough fighting" throughout the summer.
President George Bush insisted that the report offered some grounds for optimism, asserting that the US can still prevail in Iraq and declaring that it was premature to talk of withdrawing troops.
"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 will be good politics," Mr Bush said.
Republican support in Congress for the president's strategy in Iraq has started to crumble and at least eight of the party's senators are backing Senate resolutions demanding troop withdrawals.
The House of Representatives was last night expected to approve a resolution setting an April 1st, 2008 deadline for the withdrawal of most US combat troops from Iraq.
Mr Bush has said he will veto any Bill that includes a timetable for withdrawal or sets conditions for military operations in Iraq.
The White House hopes yesterday's report, which highlighted areas where progress has been made - including a reduction in sectarian killings - will steady Republican nerves until Congress goes into recess at the end of this month.
Democrats were unimpressed by the report, which Senate majority leader Harry Reid said underscored the need for Congress to set a firm target for action to end the war.
"The report confirmed what many had suspected: the war in Iraq is heading in a dangerous direction. It's well past time for a change of course in Iraq," he said.
The report identifies eight areas where the Iraqis are making progress, including the formation of semi-autonomous regions and political and economic support for military operations to secure parts of Baghdad. Sectarian killings have fallen dramatically, as have casualties from car and truck bombs.
The report describes as "unsatisfactory" movement towards achieving the central political objectives of planning new elections, introducing legislation to fairly distribute oil revenue, and reversing "de-Baathification" laws that limit Sunni participation in government.
Mr Bush responded: "Those who believe that the battle in Iraq is lost will likely point to the unsatisfactory performance on some of the political benchmarks.
"Those of us who believe the battle in Iraq can and must be won see the satisfactory performance on several of the security benchmarks as a cause for optimism."
The president said the report should be seen as a snapshot as the troop surge began to take effect and urged legislators to wait for a second report in September before deciding if the surge is succeeding.
He warned Congress against telling him how to run the war: "To begin withdrawing before our commanders tell us we are ready would be dangerous for Iraq, for the region, and for the United States. It would mean surrendering the future of Iraq to al-Qaeda. It would mean that we'd be risking mass killings on a horrific scale.
"It would mean we'd allow the terrorists to establish a safe haven in Iraq to replace the one they lost in Afghanistan. It would mean increasing the probability that American troops would have to return at some later date to confront an enemy that is even more dangerous," he said.