The Iraqi government has made "satisfactory progress" toward eight targets set by the United States and "unsatisfactory progress" toward eight other targets, and produced mixed results in the remaining two benchmarks, according to an assessment report on Iraq released by the White House on Thursday.

The report is the first of two reports ordered by U.S. lawmakers as an assessment of President George W. Bush's troop-increase strategy. The second report is due in September.

"Some of the benchmarks may be leading indicators, giving some sense of future trends; but many are more accurately characterized as lagging indicators, and will only be achieved after the strategy is fully underway and generates improved conditions on the ground," the 25-page report said.

On the positive side, the report identified that the Iraqi government has made satisfactory progress toward forming a Constitutional Review Committee, enacting and implementing legislation on procedures to form semi-autonomous regions, and establishing supporting political, media, economic, and services committees in support of the Baghdad Security Plan.

It also found that the Iraqi government has made satisfactory progress in ensuring the Baghdad Security Plan does not provide a safe haven for any outlaws, and ensuring that the rights of minority political parties in the Iraqi legislature are protected, and in allocating funds to ministries and provinces.

In addition, the report said satisfactory progress had been made by the Iraqis toward establishing planned joint security stations in Baghdad, and toward providing three trained and ready Iraqi brigades to support Baghdad operations.

On the negative side, the report said the Iraqi government has not made satisfactory progress toward providing Iraqi commanders with all authorities to execute the security plan and to make tactical and operational decisions in consultation with U.S. Commanders without political intervention, in ensuring that Iraqi security forces are providing even-handed enforcement of the law, and toward enacting and implementing legislation on de-Ba'athification reform.

The report found that the Iraqi government has made unsatisfactory progress toward increasing the number of Iraqi security forces units capable of operating independently, and in ensuring that Iraq's political authorities are not undermining or making false accusations against members of the Iraqi security forces.

On sectarian violence, the report said the Iraqi government has made satisfactory progress toward reducing sectarian violence but has shown unsatisfactory progress towards eliminating militia control of local security.

The security situation in Iraq "remains complex and extremely challenging," it said.

At a news conference at the White House on Thursday, Bush said it was not surprising that political progress was lagging behind the security gains in Iraq.

He said the assessment was only a preliminary report which came less than a month after the final reinforcements arrived in Iraq, and that when the second report on a "more comprehensive assessment" was delivered in September, "we'll also have a clearer picture of how the new strategy is unfolding, and be in a better position to judge where we need to make any adjustments."

As Congress was pressing for a withdrawal timeline for American troops in Iraq, Bush said the administration would start drawing down forces in Iraq only when American military commanders said the conditions in Iraq were right, "not because pollsters say it'll be good politics."

"We'll create the conditions that will allow our troops to begin coming home, while securing our long-term national interests in Iraq and in the region," he said.

Bush ordered about 30,000 additional U.S. troops to Iraq early this year, to help quell sectarian violence in the country. Currently there about 160,000 U.S. soldiers in Iraq, and over 3,600 American troops have been killed in Iraq since the war started in March 2003.