Iraq’s new President, Jalal Talabani, wrote an open letter thanking America for her help liberating and protecting Iraq. The full letter can be found here. Here’s some parts I found to be important:

I want to be frank here. In order to rid Iraq of the constant threat of violence, we still need your help. As long as we are determent to outlast and outsmart our enemy, we shall reach our common goals. Iraq is slowly gaining the ability to fight this war with its own soldiers, evidenced recently by the relinquishing of complete control of coalition forces to the Iraqi government. The coalition now employs more soldiers from Iraq than any other nation.

Slowly but surely, Iraq will be able to protect itself on its own. The stakes of Iraq are enormous, world-shifting even. This is why our country should be a point of concern for every democratic country of the world.

I can assure you that the immediate departure of coalition forces would only unleash tensions between different communities; the prospect of a safe Iraq would be completely lost; and the previous descriptions of a civil war would seem insufficient and tame compared to the bloodshed of an Iraq that loses its international support. And although I cannot promise when or how the American presence will completely end in Iraq, I can promise that American soldiers do not fight in vain.

We in Iraq recognize that an incredible amount of American resources have been offered to us. And we understand that many Americans are frustrated with the course of the war, and we understand that doubt naturally coincides with difficulty.
[Emphasis mine]

H/T Gateway Pundit. As they note, the Washington Post didn’t find this letter to be newsworthy.