Generals Pessimistic on Iraq.

American military commanders in Baghdad and Washington give a sobering new assessment of the war in Iraq in interviews and briefings this week, with some of the generals pulling back from their own recent suggestions that positive trends in Iraq could allow a major drawdown in the 138,000 American troops late this year or early in 2006, the New York Times reports.

Separately, President Bush called for patience in assessing the progress of Iraq and other nations toward democracy, comparing Iraq's situation to what he described as the rocky start the U.S. had after its independence, the Times reports

(5-19-05, The Wall Street Journal Online.)