KEY POINTS:
President George W. Bush put off changing course in Iraq for at least two months yesterday but the United States House of Representatives signalled its frustration by calling for combat troops to leave by April.
An interim White House report released just before Bush spoke gave the Iraqi Government a mixed review in meeting political and security goals - providing more ammunition for war opponents demanding Bush start ending US military involvement.
The Democrat-controlled House, in a symbolic move, voted 223-201 to approve legislation to bring combat troops out of Iraq by April 1, 2008.
Defying a veto threat from Bush, House Democrats hope the vote will put pressure on the Senate to attach a similar troop-withdrawal timetable to a military policy bill it is debating.
Two previous efforts either died in the Senate or were vetoed by Bush.
Trying to buy time in the face of a growing revolt among fellow Republicans over his Iraq strategy, Bush urged lawmakers to withhold judgment until he receives a broader assessment in September from General David Petraeus, the top commander in Iraq, and US Ambassador Ryan Crocker.
"We'll also have a clearer picture of how the new strategy is unfolding, and be in a better position to judge where we need to make any adjustments," Bush told a news conference.
He conceded "war fatigue" had set in among the American public and Congress but that it was premature to talk about bringing US forces home, less than a month after an additional 28,000 troops had been sent as part of a new attempt to boost security.
Indicating the next report could be pivotal, Bush said he would consider "making another decision, if need be" at that time.
Holding his first news conference in nearly two months, Bush's tone was at times strident, at times beseeching, as he defended his country's role in a war that has killed more than 3600 US troops and tens of thousands of Iraqis.
A USA Today/Gallup poll this week shows more than seven in 10 Americans favour withdrawing nearly all troops by April, and several polls show Bush's approval ratings the lowest of any president in decades.
Bush said he understood opposition to the war but he was the Commander-in-Chief and would rely on his generals' advice.
"I guess I'm like any other political figure. Everybody wants to be loved - just sometimes the decisions you make and the consequences don't enable you to be loved," Bush said.
The White House report is being sent to Congress after several prominent Republicans have broken ranks with Bush on Iraq, adding momentum to Democratic-led efforts to try to force a scaling-back of troop levels more than four years after the US-led invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein.
Senator John Warner, a Virginia Republican, said in a statement yesterday that the Iraqi "Government is simply not providing leadership worthy of the considerable sacrifice of our forces, and this has to change immediately".
Senate Majority leader Harry Reid, a Nevada Democrat, said the White House report confirmed the Iraq War was "headed in a dangerous direction".
"The Iraqi Government has not met the key political benchmarks it has set for itself and Iraqi security forces continue to lag well behind expectations," he said.
The report gave the Iraqi Government a satisfactory grade on eight of 18 goals set by Congress. It showed that on eight of the benchmarks, Baghdad's performance was unsatisfactory, and mixed on two others.
It showed there had been limited progress on meeting goals for political reconciliation such as passing a law to share oil revenues. It also painted a picture of Iraqi security forces still plagued by sectarianism and heavily dependent on US troops to conduct operations.
"The White House has spun it cautiously," said Daniel Byman, a security analyst at Georgetown University. "They're portraying it as a glass that's half full. I would say the glass is at best a quarter or a fifth full."
Braced for criticism, Bush said: "Those who believe that the battle in Iraq is lost will likely point to the unsatisfactory performance on some of the political benchmarks." But he added: "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."
In another day of violence, a suicide bomber killed seven guests at a policeman's wedding in northern Iraq. In Baghdad, an Iraqi photographer and driver working for Reuters were killed in what police said was US military action and which witnesses described as a helicopter attack.
- Reuters
War cries: we're winning ... oops, no we're not
President George W. Bush has seldom held back with his comments about the Iraq War since it began in March 2003:
"Major combat operations in Iraq have ended. In the battle of Iraq, the United States and our allies have prevailed."
- May 1, 2003, aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln under a banner declaring "Mission Accomplished".
"I hope there's not an expectation from people that all of a sudden there's going to be zero violence ... It's just not going to be the case."
- June 14, 2006, White House Rose Garden.
"We will stay the course, we will help this young Iraqi democracy succeed, and victory in Iraq will be a major ideological triumph in the struggle of the 21st century."
- August 30, 2006, Salt Lake City.
"Stay the course means keep doing what you're doing. My attitude is, don't do what you're doing if it's not working - change. Stay the course also means don't leave before the job is done. We're going to get the job done in Iraq."
- October 11, 2006, White House Rose Garden.
"It's my responsibility to provide the American people with a candid assessment on the way forward ... Absolutely, we're winning."
- October 25, 2006, White House .
"We're not winning, we're not losing."
- December 19, 2006, interview with the Washington Post (published on December 20).
"The situation in Iraq is unacceptable to the American people - and it is unacceptable to me ... Where mistakes have been made, the responsibility rests with me."
- January 10, 2007, White House Library.
"Our country is pursuing a new strategy in Iraq - and I ask you to give it a chance to work."
- January 23, 2007, State of the Union address to Congress.
"The struggle in Iraq may be hard, but this should not be a time for despair."
- March 6, 2007, speech to American Legion in Washington.
"I guess I'm like any other political figure. Everybody wants to be loved - just sometimes the decisions you make and the consequences don't enable you to be loved."
-July 12, 2007, White House news conference after submitting a report to Congress showing limited progress in the Iraq War amid calls to withdraw US troops.
