WASHINGTON — President Bush insisted yesterday that there was “cause for optimism” in Iraq despite a White House report stating that there had been “unsatisfactory progress” from the Baghdad government in 50% of key areas.

Mr. Bush used a White House press conference to stick to his contention that it was too early to assess the effect of the “surge” of American troops in Iraq and urged Americans to be patient.

“I understand why the American people are tired of the war,” he said. “There’s war fatigue in America. It’s affecting our psychology. I’ve said this before. I understand that it’s an ugly war.” But Congress and voters should wait until a fuller report in September before making a judgment. “Since the reinforcements arrived, things have changed. … There’s some measurable progress.”

Democrats and a number of increasingly jittery Republicans, however, pounced on the White House’s own report, mandated by Congress, as evidence that progress was limited at best and not enough to save Iraq from descending further toward all-out conflagration.

The report found that Prime Minister al-Maliki’s government had not fully met any of the 18 “benchmarks” for political, military, and economic reform laid down in May. “Satisfactory” progress had been made in eight areas, “unsatisfactory” in eight others and “mixed” in the other two.

It accused Syria of fostering a network that supplies up to 80 suicide bombers a month for Al Qaeda in Iraq and stated that Iran continued to fund insurgent attacks.

The report said that “the security situation in Iraq remains complex and extremely challenging,” the “economic picture is uneven” and political reconciliation slow.

There had been satisfactory progress in training Iraqi brigades in Baghdad, denying safe haven to outlaws in the capital and allocating revenues for reconstruction efforts.