WASHINGTON (AFP) -
A new classified US National Intelligence Estimate on Iraq paints a rosier picture of the conditions on the ground than previous reports on the war, The Wall Street Journal reported online Thursday.
The report was released to a limited number of US lawmakers this week, one week before the commander of US forces in Iraq, General David Petraeus, and US ambassador Ryan Crocker give a progress report to Congress, the Journal said.
The daily said officials familiar with the document describe it broadly as backing the "surge" strategy that President George W. Bush had launched last year in which he sent 30,000 extra troops to Iraq.
The officials would not describe details of the report, but said it focused on improvements in security and in the Iraqi government, the newspaper said.
The document says little more than what has been reported in newspapers, the officials said.
The Journal reported that this has angering some Democrats who say it was designed largely to bolster the Bush administration's policy in Iraq ahead of Petraeus's testimony, the Journal said.
The report was requested by Senator John Warner and delivered to Congress on Tuesday.
"It's much less insightful than other, recent products and focuses narrowly on counterterrorism efforts in Iraq and the progress of the Iraqi leadership," Democratic Representative Jane Harman, who chairs to Homeland Security intelligence subcommittee, told the newspaper.
Crocker and Petraeus will testify before the US Congress on April 8-9 and their report is expected to shape debate on withdrawal of the some 158,000 US troops.
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