In contrast to the repeated claims by John Murtha that Iraqis want the US out of Iraq now, a leading Sunni politician is criticizing the decision by Great Britain to withdraw troops from Iraq:
The decision to withdraw part of the British contingent from southern Iraq was “hasty” and taken “in line with British public opinion but without considering the interests of Iraq” says one of Iraq’s leading Sunni politicians, Salim Abdallah al-Jaburi. In an interview with Adnkronos International (AKI) al-Jaburi, who is the spokesman of the Iraqi Concord Front said “the withdrawal of foreign troops must be based on the presence of a military formation capable of maintaining security, which at the moment it is not.”
Regarding fears that the British partial pull out, announced this week, and the complete withdrawal of the Danish contingent, could affect the duration of the US troops’ stay, al-Jaburi said: “The US policy is based on the deployment of its own forces in Iraq according to aims that we all know well and this episode will not modify its viewpoint regarding security.”
“This does not mean that there is a difference of opinion with Britain” he added.
In a statement on Thursday, Nouri al-Maliki underlined that the reduction of the British contingent in the Shiite majority south, was decided after consultations with the Baghdad government.