Which Iraqis?

Thomas Friedman's column in yesterday's Times, Iraq: Still Inscrutable makes a reference to "Iraqis [who] will tell him on day one that we can’t leave Iraq precipitously because it will explode."

The first thing that comes to mind with that statement is that Obama has never advocated a precipitous withdrawal. He position is to be out of Iraq at a rate of 1-2 brigades a month.

The second issue is exactly which Iraqis don't want us to go and how representative are they? Although the Iraqi Foreign Minister lectured Obama about the importance of the US staying in Iraq, other events on the ground suggest a rapidly diminishing Iraqi patience with the US presence there. For example, there is the total breakdown in negotiations for a Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA). The majority of the Iraqi parliament insists on a withdrawal timetable as a condition for any SOFA.