BAGHDAD -- More than 1 million Americans have served in Iraq, and almost 4,500 lost their lives there. Now the Iraqis have given the U.S. military an unequivocal message: Go home.
Eight years after U.S. troops overthrew Saddam Hussein, there is little enthusiasm among people on the street for a sustained American presence.
And although some Iraqis undoubtedly fear that the U.S. withdrawal could lead to greater instability, others -- notably the lawmakers elected after the U.S.-enabled democratic transition -- appear to think that a quick departure of Americans is about the best thing that could happen.
In the United States, the debate over Iraq focuses on the possibility of greater insecurity once U.S. troops leave. Advocates of sustaining a military presence in Iraq argue that even a limited number of troops could act as a counterweight against Iran's growing influence here since the ouster of the Saddam Hussein, who was an implacable foe of the Islamic Republic, and the emergence of a Shiite-dominated government with close ties to Iran.
In Iraq, however, many associate the U.S. presence with instability, violence and suspect motives in a conflict that is believed to have cost at least 100,000 Iraqi lives. These critics view American troops as a lightning rod for militia attacks.
A representative of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's Shiite-led ruling coalition said Iraqis were "thankful" for the role of the United States and other nations in ousting Saddam, but another official added that the Americans "put the country on the brink of civil war."
"They were part of the reason behind the ethnic and sectarian tension," said Saad Muttalbi.
The Shiites have long been cool to U.S. troops in Iraq. But leading politicians from Sunni and Kurdish blocs who once welcomed the American presence now also agree that the United States must leave.
The largely Sunni Iraqiya bloc headed by Ayad al-Allawi has gone on record to oppose extending the stay of American troops beyond the end of the year.
Omar Jubbori, a member of the largely Sunni Iraqiya political bloc, said Washington would be better off supporting Iraq through economic and "other channels rather than a military presence, about which Iraqi public opinion is clear."
Even lawmakers from Iraqi Kurdistan, where U.S. forces were warmly received in 2003, no longer seem enthusiastic about American boots on the ground.
"An American presence is not a condition to solve our problems," said Mahmoud Othman, a member of the Kurdish coalition. "They've been here for years, and there are still problems in Iraq."
