Gilbert Gutknecht: “I think the real progress that we are all looking for is for the Iraqis. Now that Prime Minister Maliki has got a…”

“I think the real progress that we are all looking for is for the Iraqis. Now that Prime Minister Maliki has got a government, and I think he needs to know that America is going to be there to support him. You know, I was misquoted that I was in favor of immediate withdrawal. That is simply not true. What I have said consistently is America needs to be there for quite some time to come. We still have troops in Germany. We still have troops in Japan. We still have troops in South Korea. But our real role has to begin to change, so that we provide the umbrella of security. If, for example, some militia being to mass and begin to directly confront the government or other forces, then I think from a conventional standpoint, we are in a strong position to make sure that that gets dealt with quickly and effectively. And nobody can do it better than our military. But in terms of some of the sectarian things and the thugs who are at large in some of the neighborhoods, since we cannot speak the language and we do not understand the culture, it is just much more difficult for us to get to the bottom of that. That is where the Iraqis need to step up. That is the progress we are looking for. When that happens, when people start to feel as secure in Baghdad as they do in Erbil, then you will see the economy begin to improve. Because, it is obvious to me that the overwhelming majority of Iraqis want what most Americans want. They want to live in peace.…”