The review was carefully worded and pulled its punches in describing the differences between Washington and its Pakistani and Afghan government allies.

Announced in a series of briefings by the president and his top foreign policy aides, the report is the first full-scale review of the administration’s strategy.

The summary said the United States continued to kill leaders of Al Qaeda and diminish its capacity to carry out terrorist attacks from the region. It cited some signs that the United States and its allies had halted or reversed inroads by the Taliban in Afghanistan and strengthened the ability of Afghan forces to secure their country. But it acknowledged that the gains were fragile and could be easily undone unless more progress was made in hunting down insurgents operating from havens in neighboring Pakistan.

The summary points to a handful of areas where the influx of American troops has had an impact. For instance, night raids by Special Forces operatives and increased security measures in villages, the report said, have reduced overall Taliban influences in the movement’s heartland of Kandahar and Helmand Provinces.

In addition, the Afghan Army has exceeded growth targets set by NATO and American military officials, and the training of the Afghan forces who will be expected to take over the lead from American and NATO troops has improved, the summary said.

Once the report was portrayed as critical to decisions about the course of the conflict and the pace of withdrawal.

But in recent weeks the White House has been playing down the importance of the report, as it has balanced pressure from the military for time to allow the troop buildup to work, and from Democrats who want to wind down the nine-year conflict. Some of those debates have taken place inside the administration itself.