Iraqi leader tries to buck up support in UK, US

AP/Washington Times:

Coalition troops must stay in Iraq and not give way to defeatism or panic in the face of hostile public opinion, Iraq's deputy prime minister said after meeting British leaders yesterday.
Iraqi forces will increasingly take over responsibility for the country's stability from coalition troops, said Barham Saleh, an influential Kurd with long ties to the United States and Britain.
He urged officials to ignore an increasingly pessimistic tone in the debate over Iraq's future.
"I do believe there is no option for the international community to cut and run," Mr. Saleh said after talks with Prime Minister Tony Blair. "We need to understand that there is a need of utmost urgency to deal with many of the problems of Iraq, but we must not give in to panic."
Mr. Saleh said he was concerned about what he described as the increasing acrimony in the international debate over Iraq.
"There is too much of a pessimistic tone to this debate -- even I would say in certain circles a defeatist tone," he told the British Broadcasting Corp. before meeting with Mr. Blair.
He said that Iraqi forces will be in control of seven or eight of Iraq's 18 provinces by the end of the year, but that the presence of coalition troops remains crucial as local police and the military try to quell rising violence.
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Defeatist tone? No kidding. There are many in this country and even more in the UK who are desperate to lose the war in Iraq. We should do our best to disappoint them.