Sept. 3 (Bloomberg) — President George W. Bush arrived in Iraq today on an unannounced trip to an air base in the country's Anbar province ahead of a progress report on the war that Congress is set get next week.

Bush made his third visit to Iraq on the way to the Asia- Pacific Economic Cooperation forum in Sydney. Over the next two weeks the U.S. Congress will be intensifying the debate on Bush's strategy in the conflict and the Prime Minister Nuri al- Maliki government's efforts to meet benchmarks toward unifying the nation.

An assessment by U.S. intelligence agencies released Aug. 31 concluded that Iraq's political leaders still can't govern effectively even as the addition of 30,000 more U.S. troops this year is helping curb sectarian violence. The report has increased pressure on Bush from congressional Democrats and some Republicans, who are calling for the administration to begin a gradual withdrawal of forces.

The president left Washington in secrecy last night and Air Force One, a specially configured Boeing 747-200B aircraft, and arrived in at the al-Asad air base about 3:45 p.m. local time.

Bush has made two other surprise visits: Nov. 27, 2003 on Thanksgiving Day, and the other on June 13, 2006, a week after a U.S. air strike killed Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, al-Qaeda's leader in Iraq.

The president, in recent speeches to U.S. military veterans, has signaled he wants to keep his 30,000 troop-buildup in place to defeat insurgents and terrorists amid some signs that security conditions are improving, though no final decisions have been made.

Progress Report

Bush's trip comes as the administration is preparing for congressional testimony by Army General David H. Petraeus, the top U.S. commander in Iraq, and Ambassador Ryan C. Crocker the week of Sept. 10. The president is set to deliver a status report on the war, mandated by lawmakers, by Sept. 15.

Five years and six months into the war, Bush has characterized progress toward stability in Iraq as frustrating and slow. Still, there has been a reduction in violence in some areas, and the struggling Maliki government has passed about 60 pieces of legislation that both the Iraqis and U.S. officials say are crucial to achieving political goals.

Democrats, who hold majorities in the House and Senate, plan two weeks of hearings in the House and Senate that includes centers on the testimony of Petraeus and Crocker as well as the recently published National Intelligence Estimate on Iraq, a report by the independent Government Accountability Office and retired Marine General James Jones.