By ANNE FLAHERTY and ANNE GEARAN Associated Press Writers WASHINGTON (AP) — A draft report to Congress on the war will
conclude that the U.S.-backed government in Iraq has met none of
its targets for political, economic and other reform, speeding up
the Bush administration’s reckoning on what to do next, a U.S.
official said Monday.
One likely result of the report will be a vastly accelerated
debate among President Bush’s top aides on withdrawing troops and
scaling back the U.S. presence in Iraq.
The “pivot point” for addressing the matter will no longer be
Sept. 15, as initially envisioned, when a full report on Bush’s
so-called “surge” plan is due, but instead will come this week
when the interim mid-July assessment is released, the official
said.
A draft version of the report, expected to be presented to
Congress on Thursday or Friday, circulated among various government
agencies in Washington on Monday.
“The facts are not in question,” the official told The
Associated Press, speaking on condition of anonymity because the
draft is still under discussion. “The real question is how the
White House proceeds with a post-surge strategy in light of the
report.”
The official said it is highly unlikely that Bush will 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 programs 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 U.S. strategy is failing and Bush
should adopt a new policy before they must face their constituents
during the August recess.
The Senate began debate Monday on legislation that would
authorize $649 billion in defense programs. By week’s end, senators
are expected to vote on an amendment by Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich.,
that would order troop withdrawals to begin in four months, with
the goal of completing the pullout by spring 2008.