BAGHDAD, 7 Dec 2006 (IRIN) - Insurgents and militias in Iraq on Thursday welcomed the recommendations made in a report by the Iraq Study Group that indicated that US policy in Iraq was not working and that its troops should be pulled out earlier than current projections suggest.Seems like the insurgents and the American people are basically on the same page on whether or not we should stay or go.
“The withdrawal of US troops from Iraq has been one of our foremost demands since 2004. The presence of foreign troops in our country is the reason why we continue to fight, resulting in the killing of thousands of Iraqis,” said Abu Baker, a member of Sunni insurgent group Jeyshi Muhammad (Muhammad’s Army) who declined to give his full name.
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“The occupation in Iraq is unacceptable to every Muslim fighter group and the Iraqi resistance believes that the country can only be governed by Iraqis without interference by US soldiers or politicians,” Abu Baker said.
“This report just makes us stronger in our beliefs and reinforces our view that the best choice to be taken by the United States is to leave Iraq soon,” he added.
However, insurgents also say that their own government is failing to address Iraq’s deteriorating situation and that giving amnesty to selected armed groups would only provoke others to revolt.
“They [the government] do not want to find a solution. The only thing we ask is the withdrawal of US troops and that is the only thing they refuse to do. The result of that can be seen in Iraq today,” Abu Baker said.
Al-Qa’eda representatives in Iraq have long called for US troops to leave the country and see their continued presence as a direct cause of the increasing bloodshed there.
“No Muslim country should close their eyes over this occupation that is destroying the country. The occupation is not popular with us Iraqis and that is why you can see an increase in the numbers of Iraqis who have turned into fighters against the US occupation,” said Abu Ahmed, who claimed to be a member of al-Qa’eda in Iraq and declined to give his full name.
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“They have to return to their country to look after their problems because for sure all Iraqi groups can unite to govern the country. But as long as they keep occupying our country, we are going to fight and the results could get much worse for them,” Ali Kashrum, a member of the Mahdi Army, said.
“The report paints a clear picture of the situation in the country and... we expect that now the US can wake up and follow the report’s advice and leave Iraq as soon as possible,” Kashrum added.
It is time to get the fuck out of Iraq.
