Atlantic Monthly
by Nir Rosen

12/11/05

At some point -- whether sooner or later -- US troops will leave Iraq. I have spent much of the occupation reporting from Baghdad, Kirkuk, Mosul, Fallujah, and elsewhere in the country, and I can tell you that a growing majority of Iraqis would like it to be sooner. As the occupation wears on, more and more Iraqis chafe at its failure to provide stability or even electricity, and they have grown to hate the explosions, gunfire, and constant war, and also the daily annoyances: having to wait hours in traffic because the Americans have closed off half the city; having to sit in that traffic behind a US military vehicle pointing its weapons at them; having to endure constant searches and arrests. ... There is no panacea. ... But a continued US occupation can only get in the way...

http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200512/iraq-withdrawal


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp