Democrats Challenge Bush on Iraq (1/2)

President Bush says his September 15 report to Congress will assess what is going well in Iraq, what can be improved, and what adjustments might be made. Mr. Bush says legislators should withhold judgment until they have heard it.

But opposition Democrats, and some within the president's own Republican Party, are not withholding judgment.

In the Democratic Party's Saturday radio address, Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky says the troop reinforcements have failed to achieve their goal of reducing violence so progress can be made on political reconciliation.

Schakowsky visited Iraq last month and says top commander General David Petraeus told her U.S. troops could be in Iraq another nine or 10 years. She says that is not the timetable most Americans have in mind, and she urged Republican members of Congress to support a draw down of troops.

"The best way to protect our troops is to end this war in Iraq, with the president stubbornly" class="hjdict" word="stubbornly" target=_blank>stubbornly continuing to stay the course in Iraq, I urge my Republican colleagues to join with Democrats and the vast majority of Americans who are demanding a new direction in Iraq and refocusing America's efforts on fighting the real threats of terrorism around the world."