Iraqi Parliamentarian: 70 Percent Of Iraqis Want Withdrawal

[cal04]

Iraqi Parliamentarian: 70 Percent Of Iraqis Want Withdrawal, Huge U.S. Embassy Not A ‘Positive Signal'

Today, the House held a hearing featuring two members of the Iraqi Parliament in order “to hear their assessment of the proposed U.S.-Iraq Security Agreement,” an agreement proposed by the Bush administration permitting combat forces in Iraq for an unspecified period of time. Iraq is currently seeing “growing and widespread protests…over the scope of the agreement.”

In the hearing, parliamentarians Nadeem Al-Jaberi and Khalaf Al-Ulayyan expressed their support for a timetable for withdrawal of U.S. troops. In an exchange with Rep. Ron Paul (R-TX), Al-Jaberi said that U.S. presence in Iraq is highly unpopular with the public, as roughly 70 percent of Iraqis favor a withdrawal:

PAUL: What percent of the Iraqi people would agree with us leaving under those circumstances?

AL-JABERI: I ask you to perhaps have a referendum, and that will tell you the truth.

PAUL: So you have no idea. You have no idea. Maybe only 5 percent would support us leaving. You have to have an idea.

AL-JABERI: Of course not. The majority of the people of Iraq are with the withdrawal. … Perhaps even about 70 percent.

Watch it:
http://thinkprogress.org/2008/06/04/iraq-parliament/
(snip)
Update:Spencer Ackerman notes that al-Ulayyan, when asked about the invasion of Iraq, remarked: "I would prefer if it didn't happen, because it led to the destruction of the country. The U.S. got rid of one person. It put in hundreds of persons that are worse than Saddam Hussein. Unfortunately, now Iran is going into Iraq, and this is under the umbrella of the United States."

Update:Rep. Bill Delahunt (D-MA) also released a letter today from 31 Iraqi legislators "asserting that the proposed agreement is opposed by a majority of the parliament if it does not include a specific timetable for the withdrawal of U.S. military troops."

[dubeskin]

1. Funny

70% of Americans don't support the war either.

It's disappointing to see something from Racist Paul here on DU, but I think that this fact is important to get out. WE don't want to be there and THEY don't want us there.

[Olney Blue]

2. They should have a referendum vote, and we should respect it.

[Canuckistanian]

3. Oh. There are people in Iraq?

Like, people who were born and grew up there?

I've never heard of this before.

And these "people" don't like being occupied?

Seems to me that these people should at least, like have a say in what goes on in their country.

Unless they've got oil or something.

[bullimiami]

4. only one vote counts

and he wants to stay