Iraqi Govt 'failing on all targets'

A draft report to Congress on the Iraq war will conclude that the US-backed government has met none of its targets for political, economic and other reform, an official said today.

One likely result of the report will be a vastly-accelerated debate among President George Bush’s top aides on withdrawing troops and scaling back the US presence in Iraq.

The “pivot point” for addressing the matter will no longer be September 15, as initially envisaged, when a full report on Bush’s so-called “surge” plan is due, but will instead come this week when the interim mid-July assessment is released, the official says.

A draft version of the report, expected to be presented to Congress on Thursday or Friday, circulated among various government agencies in Washington last night.

“The facts are not in question,” the anonymous official told The Associated Press. “The real question is how the White House proceeds with a post-surge strategy in light of the report.”

The official said it was highly unlikely that Bush would withhold or suspend some aid to the Iraqis based on the report, as he can do under the law.

As the White House prepared its first major progress report for Congress, war-weary Republicans are focusing their efforts on protecting unrelated anti-terrorism programmes while Democrats are trying again to pass legislation ordering troop withdrawals.

Simmering in the background is a growing sentiment among at least some Republicans that the US strategy is failing and Bush should adopt a new policy before they must face their constituents during the August recess.

The Senate began debate yesterday on legislation that would authorise €480bn in defence programmes. By the end of the week, senators are expected to vote on an amendment by Democratic Senator Carl Levin, that would order troop withdrawals to begin in four months, with the goal of completing the pullout by spring 2008.