In quotes: Candidates on Iraq report

Key quotes from the main US presidential candidates on the Iraq progress report presented to Congress by the top US military leader in Iraq, Gen David Petraeus, and US Baghdad ambassador Ryan Crocker.

JOHN MCCAIN, REPUBLICAN

We're no longer staring into the abyss of defeat and we can now look ahead to the genuine process of success...

I do not want to keep our troops in Iraq a minute longer than necessary, to secure our interests there. Our goal - my goal - is an Iraq that no longer needs American troops. And I believe we can achieve that goal, perhaps sooner than many imagine...

But I also believe that to promise a withdrawal of our forces, regardless of the consequences, would constitute a failure of political and moral leadership.

HILLARY CLINTON, DEMOCRAT

I just want to respond to some of the statements and suggestions that have been made... that it is irresponsible or demonstrates a lack of leadership to advocate withdrawing troops from Iraq in a responsible and carefully planned withdrawal.

I fundamentally disagree. Rather, I think it could be fair to say it might well be irresponsible to continue the policy that has not produced the results that have been promised time and time again...

You know the lack of political progress over the last six months and the recent conflict in Basra reflect how tenuous the situation in Iraq really is...

For the past five years we have continually heard from the administration that things are getting better, that we're about to turn a corner, that there is finally a resolution in sight. Yet each time Iraqi leaders fail to deliver...

I think it's time to begin an orderly process of withdrawing our troops, start rebuilding our military and focusing on the challenges posed by Afghanistan, the global terrorist groups and other problems that confront America...

BARACK OBAMA, DEMOCRAT

We all have the greatest interest in seeing a successful resolution in Iraq.

I continue to believe the decision to go into Iraq was a massive strategic blunder.

We are more likely to resolve the situation if we are applying increased pressure. Increased pressure in a measured way, in my mind... includes a timetable for withdrawal. Nobody's asking for a precipitous withdrawal.

We should be talking to Iran as we cannot stabilise the situation without them...

The problem I have is if the definition of success is so high - no traces of al-Qaeda and no possibility of reconstitution, a highly effective Iraqi government, a Democratic multi-ethnic, multi-sectarian functioning democracy, no Iranian influence, at least not of the kind that we don't like - then that portends the possibility of us staying for 20 or 30 years.

If, on the other hand, our criteria is a messy, sloppy status quo but there's not, you know, huge outbreaks of violence... that seems to me an achievable goal within a measurable timeframe.