For Iraqis, General’s Report Offers Bitter Truth

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For Iraqis, General’s Report Offers Bitter Truth
By ALISSA J. RUBIN
Published: September 12, 2007


BAGHDAD, Sept. 11 — Iraqis found themselves in a difficult position on Tuesday as they reflected on the report to Congress by Gen. David H. Petraeus and Ambassador Ryan C. Crocker. Although they say there is nothing they want more than to have American soldiers leave Iraq, they also say there is nothing they can afford less.

More than 20 Iraqis of different sects and ethnicities said in interviews across the country that they viewed the report favorably because it — or, at least the parts shown on television in Iraq — portrayed the situation accurately. They also said it signaled that there would be little change in the status quo.

Most of those who wanted a quicker pullback were politically close to the anti-American cleric Moktada al-Sadr, who has advocated immediate withdrawal. But even Mr. Sadr’s supporters left room for negotiation when it came to suggesting dates for withdrawal.

“We prefer the occupation forces get out today,” said Salah al-Ubaidi, the spokesman for Mr. Sadr’s office in Najaf. But he added: “The exact timetable of the withdrawal, in my opinion, is up to these forces to decide. It is up to the professionals in the security field.”

Mostly, Iraqis appeared rueful about their vulnerability and the need to allow foreign troops to help keep order for some time to come. Politicians were more measured in their views, and most stuck to the line that any withdrawal should be pegged to the readiness of Iraqi troops.

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“The withdrawal of the occupation forces is a must because they have caused the destruction of Iraq, they committed massacres against the innocents, they have double-crossed the Iraqis with dreams,” said the worker, Ahmad Umar al Esawi, a Sunni. “I want them to withdraw all their troops in one day.


Rest of article at: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/12/world/middleeast/12reax.html?ref=world