Sunnis Ask U.S. to Stay

Baghdad

In a dramatic about-face, some Sunni leaders have dropped their demand that U.S. troops leave Iraq, The New York Times reported this week. Iraqi Vice President Tariq al-Hashemi, a Sunni, said he has withdrawn his earlier call for U.S. forces to leave, out of fear of a potential blood bath. Sunnis still deeply resent the Americans for the invasion and the demise of Saddam Hussein’s regime. But key Sunnis now say they simply can’t trust the Shiite-dominated Iraqi security forces to protect them from rampaging Shiite militias, which have been brazenly slaughtering Sunnis in Baghdad and other cities. “Look at what the militias are doing even while we have the American forces here,” said Sheik Abdul Wahab al-Adhami. “Imagine what would happen if they left.”