Iraq's new president Jalal Talabani has restated his support for a continued US military presence in Iraq, one day after large demonstrations by supporters of Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr demanded US troops leave the country. "I think we are in great need to have American and other allied forces in Iraq until we will be able to rebuild our military forces," Mr Talabani told CNN. Branding Sadr a "criminal" who should be arrested, Mr Talabani said he opposed setting a timetable for the US military's exit from the country. On Saturday, tens of thousands of Sadr's followers marched through Baghdad chanting "No, no, USA," in what is believed to be the largest demonstration since US troops entered the country. The protesters also demanded the establishment of a government based on Islamic law when the new government begins rewriting the country's constitution. The protest marked the second anniversary of the fall of Baghdad after the US invasion of the country in 2003.
| You're welcome. |
Mr Talabani, who for many years led the Iraqi Kurdish minority's resistance to the regime of deposed president Saddam Hussein, also suggested he did not support an independent state for the Kurds. "We think that, of course, the Kurdish people have the right to self-determination, like other peoples of the world," he told CNN. However, he said, the Kurds have accepted becoming part of a federation within the framework of a democratic Iraq.
| That means they don't want to be invaded by wild-eyed holy men, intent on cutting people's heads off. |