Gates in Iraq to assess progress in US troop "surge"

BAGHDAD, June 15 (Reuters) US Defense Secretary Robert Gates arrived in Baghdad today to assess a US troop buildup and press Iraq's government to move faster in passing laws that Washington views as critical to reconciling Iraqis.

His visit was yet another sign that Washington is growing worried about the slow progress in enacting the laws. US President George W. Bush is under mounting pressure from Congress to show results in Iraq or start pulling out troops.

Gates arrived on a day when the US military said it had completed its troop build-up to 160,000 soldiers. Nearly 30,000 extra troops have been sent to Iraq, mainly to secure Baghdad and give the Shi'ite-led government time to reach a political accommodation with minority Sunni Arabs and Kurds.

Gates is the third senior US official to visit Baghdad this week, following in the footsteps of the top US military general in the Middle East, Admiral William Fallon, and US Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte.

He is expected to echo their messages to Shi'ite Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki and other Iraqi leaders -- speed up passage through parliament of legislation that includes a law on distributing oil revenues and holding provincial elections.

Iraq's political blocs have so far shown a reluctance to compromise on any of the key issues. Analysts say Shi'ites, Sunni Arabs and Kurds in Maliki's coalition government are too divided to reach a political accommodation on their own.

SEPTEMBER REPORT Gates, on his last visit in April, was the first senior Bush administration official to explicitly tie Iraqi political action to the US troop build-up. He said then that Iraqi leaders would need to show definite progress by September.

That is when the top US commander in Iraq, General David Petraeus, and US ambassador Ryan Crocker are due to make an assessment on whether the US troop build-up is succeeding in taming the Sunni Arab insurgency and curbing sectarian violence.

With opinion polls suggesting most Americans now believe the war is going badly for the United States, the September report is widely viewed as a watershed. Campaigning in the 2008 US presidential race is already well under way and Iraq is proving to be the dominant issue.

In its quarterly report on Iraq published this week, the Pentagon said it was too soon to assess the military crackdown.

While violence was down in Baghdad, the overall level was unchanged in Iraq because militants had simply moved their bases outside the capital, it said.

US officials and military commanders have begun to temper expectations about the September report, saying it is unlikely to be a pivotal assessment and that more time will likely be needed for the Baghdad crackdown to show real results.

Bush has warned of a bloody summer for US troops as militants launch more vigorous counter-attacks in an attempt to influence the US debate on the war.

More than 3,500 US troops have died since the March 2003 US-led invasion of Iraq. Last month was the third worst for US military deaths, which totalled 126.

Reuters AKD VP0040