Iraqis want a US withdrawal

Since Saturday, Iraqi leaders have been meeting in Cairo as part of an Arab League-sponsored reconciliation conference aimed at eventually producing peace in Iraq. While the meeting has at times been turbulent, agreement has finally been reached on a common statement showing the points of agreement between the Sunni, Shi'ite and Kurdish communities. A key part of that statement is that the occupation is a cause of violence and conflict and that therefore there should be a timetable for the withdrawal of US troops from Iraq. The Iraqis aren't advocating immediate withdrawal - they want more time to train their own troops - but there is no question that they want the Americans gone. Meanwhile, President Bush is saying that setting a future deadline for a pullout would be "a recipe for disaster" and that US troops will "stay in the fight until we have achieved the victory [they] have fought and bled for". Perhaps he should be paying attention to the rest of the statement: in addition to calling for a timetable for withdrawal, the Iraqi representatives also agreed that resistance - though not the murder of civilians - "is a legitimate right for all people". Or, through the caveat, that it's OK for insurgents to kill US troops. When even America's allies think that, you'd think that it was time to leave, neh?