George W. Bush proves to be absolutely ignorant about Iraq

That movement was due to a pact made last month between leading Iraqi politicians from all major sects, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the report was not public. Iraqi officials have announced similar deals in the past only to have them fall apart.

Bush officials said there had not been nearly enough time between the July report and now - just 58 days - for improvement. The president said there were other, equally important developments, including passage of a budget, the sharing of oil revenues among the provinces even without legislation and local reconciliation efforts that could trickle up to Baghdad.

But in addition to defending Iraqi leaders, he urged them to "make the tough choices needed to achieve reconciliation."