Amb. Crocker 'Frustrated' With Slow Progress in Iraq

"Some of the more promising political developments at the national level are neither measured in benchmarks nor visible to those far from Baghdad," he said.

Crocker cited progress in a recent political deal among various Iraqi political groups. "This agreement by no means solves all of Iraq's problems," he said. "But the commitment of its leaders to work together on hard issues is encouraging."

"At the provincial level, political gains have been more pronounced," he said. "In these areas, there is abundant evidence that security gains have opened the door for meaningful politics."

In recent weeks several U.S. politicians have criticized Iraq's Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki for the lack of political progress, accusing him of only supporting his own Shiite factions.

Maliki 'Utterly Squandered' Troop Surge

House Foreign Affairs Committee chairman Tom Lantos, D-Calif., said at today's hearing that Maliki had "utterly squandered" the opportunity bought for him by the surge to make political progress.

"Prime Minister Maliki has not shown the slightest inclination to move in the direction of compromise. Instead of working to build national institutions -- a truly Iraqi army, a competent bureaucracy, a nonsectarian police force -- Maliki has moved in the opposite direction," Lantos said.

Crocker, however, provided a more positive assessment of Maliki's intentions and abilities.

"I do believe that Iraq's leaders have the will to tackle the country's pressing problems, although it will take longer than we originally anticipated because of the environment and the gravity of the issues before them," he told the committees. "Prime Minister al-Maliki and the other Iraqi leaders face enormous obstacles in their efforts to govern effectively."

Crocker: Abandoning Effort in Iraq Will Bring Failure

Despite calls from many in Congress to pull out more troops from Iraq, Petraeus only said that the surged troops could come out by next summer. Crocker appeared to agree with Petraeus' call when he warned against a drastic change in U.S. strategy, saying a large-scale reduction in U.S. presence would bring failure that would bring repercussions throughout the region.