U.S. President George W. Bush said Thursday he is among those who consider a new mixed-results report on Iraq's progress in meeting U.S. goals to be "a cause for optimism."

Bush made the comment during a White House press briefing following the release of an interim review of the Iraqi government's political, economic and military progress.

Out of 18 political and security goals, the 23-page U.S. report found that Baghdad was making "unsatisfactory" progress on eight objectives. But it also said Baghdad's progress towards meeting eight other benchmarks was "satisfactory."

The remaining two goals yielded mixed results.

"Those who believe the battle in Iraq is lost will likely point to the unsatisfactory performance on some of the benchmarks," Bush said. "Those of us who believe the mission in Iraq can and must be won see the satisfactory [results] as a cause for optimism."

But the report found that overall, the U.S.-backed government in Baghdad has not achieved any major objectives considered necessary to eliminate sectarian violence in the region.

It acknowledges Iraq has made some positive gains and met some targets to crack down on violence and boost security, such as establishing security stations around Baghdad. But the review also cites the government's failure when it comes to enacting long-promised legislation, such as laws to divide the nation's oil revenues.

Full progress report due in September

Bush said he remained dedicated to the mission, however, and promised the longer-term political goals could be achieved after U.S. military pressure roots out extremists in the region.

"Progress on security will pave the way for political progress," Bush said. "So it's not surprising that political progress is lagging behind the security gains we are seeing."

Bush also took on a wait-and-see attitude, frequently referring to the fact the report was written "a little less than a month after the full complement of troops arrived." 

Its release on Thursday also comes ahead of a full report, due in mid-September, on Iraqi progress after the U.S. troop "surge" strategy. Gen. David Petraeus, the top U.S. military general in Iraq, will present that broader review. The president said he would like to wait until then before making final decisions on what course to take on Iraq.

The report's findings come as both houses of Congress are sharply divided over the next course in the nearly 4½-year-old war, fraying Republican unity on Capitol Hill and fuelling Democratic efforts to force troop withdrawals.

Democrats call for vote to end mission 

Emboldened by a growing Republican divide on the issue, Democrats called for a vote on legislation to end U.S. combat operations next year. The House of Representatives planned to vote first on Thursday.

Democrats cite the report's findings as proof the war effort is failing, while Republicans loyal to Bush say the limited progress shows hope and that lawmakers should not lose faith.

On Wednesday, House Republican leader John Boehner called the growing number of defectors in the Senate from his party "wimps" during a private meeting.

Boehner's spokesman, Brian Kennedy, said Boehner's comments "were intended to illustrate the fact that we just recently voted to give the troops our full support — including ample time for the [Gen. David]  Petraeus plan to work, and that too much is at stake for Congress to renege on its commitment now by approving what can only be described as another partisan stunt by Democrats."

More opposition amid mounting deaths

Public opinion polls show Americans' ever-deepening opposition to the war in Iraq amid a climbing U.S. casualty count 16 months before the 2008 elections.

Bush has said it is too early to assess the effect the troop surge has had in stabilizing Iraq.

Also Thursday, the leader of Iraq's largest Shia political party said he will stand by Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and urged Sunnis not to abandon the political process, promising serious efforts to solve any problem angering them.

Abdul-Aziz al-Hakim's written comments were received by the Associated Press on Thursday in response to questions sent to him last week. The leader of the Supreme Islamic Council of Iraq is in Iran for cancer treatment.

Al-Maliki's coalition has been weakened by a Sunni Arab boycott and wrangling over political benchmarks that the United States is pushing the prime minister to pass.

Some Sunni politicians have called for removing al-Maliki, calling him biased toward his fellow Shias.

CBC News