Iraq Goals Out Of Reach?

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Top U.S. military officials say the main goals set last year by President Bush when he announced a troop buildup in Iraq are unlikely to be met before a crucial September report to Congress.

The Los Angeles Times reports military officials are increasingly convinced the three major U.S. objectives – sharing of oil revenues, provincial elections and a deal to integrate more Sunni Arabs into the Iraqi government – will be not be achieved before Gen. David Petraeus sends Congress an assessment of progress in Iraq.

Of the three goals, only the sharing of Iraq's oil revenues among Sunnis, Shiites and Kurds is considered achievable – and even that's rated a long shot.

The officials told the Times they understood that a report that major goals had not been met would only add to skepticism about the war among Democrats in Congress. However, some "counterinsurgency advisors to Petraeus" said it was never realistic to expect the Iraqis to resolve such major disagreements after only a few months of the U.S. troop buildup.

Instead, military officials are seeking to redefine success, pointing to smaller, local deals that have been achieved, which they say "can be building blocks of wider sectarian reconciliation."