US Congress watchdog sees scant progress in Iraq

WASHINGTON, Sep 4 (Reuters) A US Congressional report today said ''violence remains high'' in Iraq, there has been little political progress and results on security are mixed despite President George W. Bush's troop buildup this year.

A day after Bush visited Iraq and spoke of a possible drawdown in US troops if what he called security successes continued, the independent Government Accountability Office said Iraq had failed to meet 11 of 18 political and military goals set by Congress, such as reducing sectarian violence and passing laws on oil revenue sharing. Iraq met three benchmarks and partially met another four.

REUTERS RS KP2246