U.S. pushes Iraq to clear more 'benchmarks'
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Signs of political reconciliation are emerging in Iraq, raising US hopes that a logjam has broken.
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The US administration seeks to refocus its spending in Iraq on better security and other short-term needs.
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The Iraqi government has failed to meet the vast majority of political and military goals laid out by lawmakers to assess President Bush's Iraq war strategy, congressional auditors have determined.
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WASHINGTON -- A widely anticipated White House report on Iraq, set for release today, contends that Iraq has made "satisfactory" progress toward nearly half of the political and military goals sought by Congress, while acknowledging that an equal number remain "unsatisfactory," an administration official said yesterday.
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U.S. officials have raised their  estimates of the size and financial support of Iraq's  insurgency, The New York Times reported on Friday, citing  unnamed sources.
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Congress required President Bush to submit an initial report to lawmakers by Sunday assessing whether the Iraqi government has made satisfactory progress toward achieving the benchmarks set for it. The breakdown of progress described in the Bush administration's report:
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The Bush administration is nearing the release of an interim report on 18 benchmarks for the Iraqi government, with fresh signs that some Republican senators are impatient with the White House plan for Iraq.
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Cuts in U.S. troop levels in Iraq will not derail recent security gains, but the Iraqi government must move quicker to take advantage of the falls in violence, a senior U.S. general said on Sunday.
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An urgent overhaul of US policy on Iraq is needed to stop "a slide towards chaos", says a major report.
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Iraq's struggling security forces  have had mixed results against a mounting insurgency and the  United States is examining if more funds are needed for this  nascent force, the U.S. government said on Thursday.
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The Bush administration,  facing mounting violence in Iraq and demands for upgraded equipment, is assembling a funding package for operations in Iraq and Afghanistan that could surge beyond earlier estimates to as much as &#36;75 billion to &#36;100 billion, congressional sources and experts said on Thursday.
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More lawmakers urge Congress to forcefully steer US actions in Iraq. But a united front is hard to achieve in a campaign season.
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A high-level US congressional delegation visiting Iraq called Thursday for between 15,000 and 30,000 more US troops to be sent to bring stability to the war-torn country.
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Iraq has met only three of 18 targets being used to measure its progress, a US watchdog is said to have concluded.
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U.S. experts studying what to do next in Iraq said Tuesday that the next three months are critical and Baghdad's government must make more progress toward controlling the violence and rebuilding the nation.
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Military statistics show that U.S. forces have made some headway at protecting the Iraqi population, but there are questions over whether the gains can be sustained.
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A top U.S. commander told Iraqâs premier to make political progress by next month to counter the growing tide of opposition to the war in Congress.