Iraqi Shiite Leader Says U.S. Troops Need to Leave Quickly
"There is international pressure on the U.S. to withdraw its forces from Iraq, and there are demands for the U.S. to be clear on a withdrawal date. So of course we are with the international community to shorten the occupation in Iraq," Abdel Aziz al-Hakim told AFP in an interview.
"We hope they leave as soon as possible," said the cleric, who was speaking in a central Tehran mosque following a ceremony marking 40 days of mourning for his brother and predecessor as SCIRI leader, Ayatollah Mohammad Baqer al-Hakim.
Abdel Aziz, a member of Iraq's U.S.-sponsored Governing Council, took over the leadership of the SCIRI following the death of his brother in an August car bombing in Najaf.
Pending the U.S. withdrawal he wants to see, Hakim argued that the United States needed to hand over more security responsibilities to the Iraqi people.
"Since the Iraqi people are capable of maintaining peace and security, we think that the occupying forces should change their security policies," he asserted.
"The Iraqi people can do the job. There is no need for foreign countries to send their troops, but they can help in Iraq's reconstruction," added Hakim after a ceremony attended by top Iranian military and political officials and clerics. "The U.S. is making a mistake in the way in which it is trying to solve the profound security problem in Iraq, and so has trapped itself and the Iraqi people in a quagmire. Therefore it should change its security policy."
The same, he said, also applied to Spanish-led troops now in charge of the holy city of Najaf, and Polish troops posted elsewhere in the south.
"They need to seek our help in establishing peace. They need to meet more regularly with us," he said.
Abdel Aziz, whose group was based in exile in Iran during much of Saddam Hussein's rule, said he had held a string of meetings with top officials of the Islamic republic.