Iraq's Main Problem Is the "Occupation" Forces?

Although vastly different in background — Mr. Talabani was a Kurdish peshmerga militia fighter who lived in the mountains, while Mr. al-Jaafari is a medical doctor who spent time in Iran and England — both leaders agreed that U.S. and coalition forces would have to stay in Iraq for a while

writes Sharon Behn after the Washington Times did exclusive interviews of Iraqi President Jalal Talabani and Prime Minister-designate Ibrahim al-Jaafari over the weekend. This seemingly gave the lie to the European fantasy that the is the American "occupation" is the gravest problem facing Iraq today.

    "During my term, I do not expect that we will not need the foreign troops, the coalition forces," said Mr. al-Jaafari, whose tone on U.S. forces was more circumspect than Mr. Talabani's. "Even if they might be phased down, we still need their presence in the country."