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Iraq 'fails to meet US targets' 'Mixed progress' on US Iraq goals
(19 minutes later)
The Iraqi government has failed to meet eight out of 18 political and military goals set by the US Congress, the White House has said in an interim report. The Iraqi government has made mixed progress towards meeting political and military goals set by the US Congress, an interim report is due to say.
The report, to be released soon, said Baghdad had made satisfactory progress in meeting eight of the benchmarks, while two were less than satisfactory. The report, to be released soon, says Baghdad has had more military than political success, since the US sent more troops to the capital in January.
The findings come amid growing pressure in Congress on the Bush administration to change course in Iraq.The findings come amid growing pressure in Congress on the Bush administration to change course in Iraq.
The House of Representatives will shortly begin debating the issue.The House of Representatives will shortly begin debating the issue.
The report says Iraq failed to meet eight out of 18 goals, or benchmarks set out by Congress when it approved continued funding for the US deployment.
It says Baghdad had made satisfactory progress in meeting eight of the targets, while the remaining two were less than satisfactory.
The BBC's Washington correspondent Matt Frei says it is not yet clear whether a mixed progress report will help or hinder the administration in its efforts to limit a Republican rebellion in Congress that might force the withdrawal of American troops from Iraq.
The Senate is expected to vote next week on amendments to the military budget, which could force cuts in troop numbers.