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Neocon Nuttery See other Neocon Nuttery Articles Title: Bush: US can still win war in Iraq President George W. Bush insisted Thursday America could still win the war in Iraq, despite a bleak picture of progress in the war-wracked nation painted by a White House report. As Bush tried to quell a Republican revolt and thwart rising Democratic demands to bring troops home, he argued there were still grounds for optimism, especially in the area of security. "I believe we can succeed in Iraq, and I know we must," Bush said at a press conference called to defend his unpopular strategy, and ruled out any troop withdrawals based on souring public opinion on the war. He said a pull-back before commanders recommended it was safe, would be "dangerous" for the Middle East and mean handing over Iraq to Al-Qaeda. The report found the Baghdad government had made satisfactory progress towards only eight of 18 benchmarks on political, security and military goals, set by the US Congress. Progress has been "satisfactory" on another eight benchmarks with uncertain results on two more. The assessment revealed that efforts by Iraq to get its armed forces operating independently of US units -- a key goal of the administration's hopes to eventually cut US troop numbers, had made "unsatisfactory progress." Among other recommendations, the report also said "the prerequisites for a successful militia disarmament program are not present," in Iraq. It found the Baghdad government has 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, where it echoed recent US statements that local tribal leaders had turned sharply against members of Al-Qaeda. The eagerly awaited report predates a more definitive assessment of the surge strategy in September by top US commander in Iraq General David Petraeus and US ambassador to Baghdad Ryan Crocker. That had been seen as the critical point for Bush's Iraq strategy, but leaked conclusions from the interim version have sent the confrontation between the Democratic-led Congress and Bush over the war to boiling point. A senior US official, on condition of anonymity styled the interim report as merely a snapshot of the early stages of the operation announced in January. "The report came out as you would expect an interim report to come out, with security indicators leading and political lagging behind," the official said. "That's what you would expect because the strategy was designed to bring security first so that political accommodation could come later." The House of Representatives was meanwhile due to vote later Thursday on a bill demanding the withdrawal of most combat troops from Iraq by April 1 next year, while the Senate plows through its own emotional debate over the war. The redeployment would begin within 120 days and the president would be forced to report to Congress on why soldiers should stay in Iraq for limited purposes such as fighting terrorism or training Iraqi forces. A similar bill is also being debated in the Senate, but both approaches mirror earlier Democratic attempts to end the war which Bush vetoed. Senator Olympia Snowe of Maine joined the Republican revolt on Wednesday saying it was time to face "reality" on a war which has killed 3,601 US troops and tens of thousands of Iraqis. She was the latest of a handful of Republican Senators, under intense pressure over the war to break with Bush, with 2008 congressional elections looming. National Security adviser Stephen Hadley Wednesday held meetings with worried Republicans on Capitol Hill, on the eve of the report's publication. Although Republican discontent is growing over Iraq, it is not clear if the Democrats have drawn enough ex-Bush allies to jump over the 60-vote hurdle in the 100-seat Senate needed to defeat delaying tactics by Republican leaders.
Poster Comment: The Iran war is still 'on'.
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