Apr 8, 2009, 17:10 GMT
Baghdad - Even as the second bombing in as many days struck a Shiite shrine in Baghdad Wednesday, many Iraqis welcomed US President Barack Obama's commitment to withdraw US soldiers from Iraq.
'Our role is to train Iraqis to take control of their own country so we can start bringing our folks home,' Obama said, to rousing cheers from the US troops gathered to greet him during his four-hour trip to Baghdad Tuesday evening.
Bomb attacks on Shiite mosques in the Baghdad neighborhood of Kadhimiya bracketed the US president's visit. On Wednesday, at least seven people were killed when a bomb exploded near the shrine to the Shiite holy man Mussa al-Kadhim, the satellite news channel al-Arabiya reported.
Shortly before Obama arrived, another bomb near the same shrine killed at least eight people and wounded 18 others, police said. That attack, in turn, followed seven car bombs in Baghdad and Mosul that killed at least 42 people on Monday, police said.
'This has dangerous implications. Obama's visit was meant to tell Iraqis that they must secure their own country,' said Jamil Fadil, a professor of political science at Baghdad University.
Fadil said he believed Obama's trip 'came at a critical time' for Iraq because 'the US was about to fulfill its commitments to withdraw its soldiers from Iraqi cities and towns' by the end of July.
'Obama's visit aimed to pressure the Iraqi government to make fundamental reforms in its political process and security forces before the US pullout from Iraq,' said Samir Khaled, a 34-year-old civil servant from Baghdad.
'It is important for Obama to visit Iraq, to see the reality of the situation, and to listen to people's fears,' Khaled said.
'But it would have been better if his meetings had not been only with high government officials,' he added. 'Obama should have met with other political leaders to hear their opinions on how to fix Iraq's internal affairs.'
And while many in Baghdad welcomed the US plans to withdraw from the country, many did not welcome the US president.
'No US president, no matter who he is, is welcome in Iraq as long as there are US troops in the country,' said Zeinab al-Kinani, a member of parliament affiliated with firebrand Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr's movement. 'We condemn and reject this visit all together.'
'Tomorrow more than 1 million Iraqis will take the streets to protest the US presence in Iraq,' she said.
'The voices of the protesters will rise to say, 'No, no to America,' and 'No, no to the occupation.' They will appeal to public opinion worldwide to stand by Iraq and to get rid of the US occupation that so harmed Iraqi society.'
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