Iraqis See little to Applaud :reactions to Petraeus and Crocker

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The Associated Press asked Iraqis for their reactions to some of the key points raised by Gen. David Petraeus and U.S. Ambassador Ryan Crocker about the situation in Iraq.


Abdul-Salam Ibrahim, 52, retired army officer and Sunni in Tikrit, Saddam Hussein's hometown:

``What is new today is the American's frank admission, even if they knew that before, of their monumental failure. This is what made them acknowledge that there is Iranian intervention in Iraq. If they stay in Iraq, it will be a catastrophe. Anbar is not the place to judge. That place should be the capital Baghdad, where militias emptied it of Sunnis ... (Baghdad) has become for one sect.''

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Mohammed Mubarak, 44, Sunni bookshop owner in Baghdad:

``I listened to the report with little interest. Anbar should not be the symbol. He (Petraeus) spoke about reducing troops and this is repetition. They are justifications. They are talking about patience and time. I don't know what they have been doing for four years. The report did not mention the suffering of the Iraqi people. The Americans are in a big dilemma and they don't know what to do.''

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Hadi Hassan, 35, a Shiite and Oil Ministry employee in Baghdad:

``The report includes false accusations about Iran and says it is behind the major problems. We are bored of these justifications. A superpower should not deal with tribes. They are repeating the Taliban experience in Iraq. They dealt with them and then turned against them. They (Americans) spoke about federalism and de-Baathification. We don't care about these matters. We want solutions to the problems of the Iraqi people. Lots of my friends did not pay attention to this report and ask where were the Americans in the past four years.''



http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,,-6911605,00.html