While We Debate

From MSNBC's Blogging Baghdad:

Most Iraqis are unaware of the Iraq Study Group report to be released on Wednesday. Their primary concern is survival, particularly those living in the central part of the country where sectarian violence, unemployment and poor infrastructure make daily life a dangerous and difficult struggle. But among political circles the Iraq Study Group report is a key indicator of future U.S. policy here and is therefore keenly anticipated.

Shiite, Sunni, Kurdish and secularist leaders are all wondering how soon U.S. troop reductions will begin. All are in favor of transferring control of the military forces to Iraqi commanders as soon as possible, and the U.S. military hopes that will be accomplished within the next six months.

But any indication of a desire to withdraw U.S. troops in the near future is something Iraqi politicians would prefer not to hear about now because it would create pressure on them to eliminate corruption, speed up constitutional reform, come up with an equitable plan to distribute oil revenues and rebuild the economy.