Hillary Clinton yesterday called President George W. Bush's defense of his Iraq war policy and a mixed administration assessment of progress in the conflict "more of the same." She reiterated her call for a troop withdrawal.

"This report could have been given a year ago, or two years ago, or even three years ago," the Democratic Presidential candidate told the New Hampshire Union Leader and UnionLeader.com in a telephone interview from Detroit.

She said the administration's progress report was predictable.

"We know that if we have intense military presence in a certain neighborhood, we can drive the violence down," she said. "But we also know that the violence doesn't cease; it just pop up somewhere else because the Iraqi government is not pursuing any political track that can lead to a resolution of the outstanding issues."

Clinton this week promised to begin the "phased redeployment" of U.S. troops in her first days in office and to convene a "regional stabilization group" to ease unrest in the war-torn nation.

Clinton commented as she and former President Bill Clinton prepare to campaign at rallies in Keene, Nashua and Manchester today.

She cancelled tomorrow's solo appearances in Salem and Rochester to attend the funeral of fellow former first lady Lady Bird Johnson.

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