US report on Iraq to be out soon

After many leaks of the upcoming report, decision-makers are already weighing in for and against a withdrawal.

 

“I’ll work with my colleagues and others to try to work for an early end to the war in Iraq,” Senator Edward Kennedy said.

 

Special report

Senator Lindsey Graham, told Al Jazeera: “I am very pleased with the results of the surge there’s local political reconciliation. The people of Iraq are war-weary. It won’t be long before Baghdad politicians follow through with major reconciliation. In my opinion I think it has worked”

 

For months, Bush has been asking the American public to wait for the White House report on Iraq, incorporating Petraeus’s advice, before they make up their minds, says Al Jazeera’s Viviana Hurtado.

 

But recent reports preceding Petraeus’s testimony have painted a damning picture of the political and security situation in the war-torn country, she said.

 

National reconciliation

 

In Baghdad, where it is expected that the government of Nouri al-Maliki will be blamed for any failures, leaders say that whatever the verdict they are not ready to do it alone.

 

“Despite our emphasis on national reconciliation at home, we also need to be reconciled with our neighbourhood, with the international community at large. And this is a critical period for us that we need your support, your commitment especially for our immediate neighbours,” said Hoshyar Zebari, the Iraqi foreign minister.

 

This sentiment was echoed on Sunday by a former US national security adviser.

 

“I think we need to be there for the sake of the region until we have an Iraq that is stable and able to be a partner in the region not be an irritant,” Brent Scowcroft said.

 

So far the president Bush has given no indication he’ll veer off his current course and Democrats do not have enough votes to force any change in policy.