BAGHDAD : Spooked by a sudden increase in calls in Washington for a rapid withdrawal of US troops from Iraq, Iraqi leaders on Monday scrambled to warn of catastrophe if their forces are left alone.

Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari led the charge, warning US lawmakers that their calls for a timetable for the departure of the 155,000 American troops could lead to the collapse of the Iraqi state and to yet more bloodshed.

"We held discussions with congressional delegations and explained to them the dangers of a rapid withdrawal, which would leave a security vacuum. It might lead to civil war, partition, collapse or a regional war," he said.

"There are some people who disagree with this assessment, but it's the responsibility of the United States and other countries to stand with the Iraqi government and the Iraqi people," he insisted.

While leaders from the Iraq's rival Sunni, Shiite and Kurdish camps disagree bitterly about many of the issues fuelling the conflict, most are clear on one thing: The Iraqi security forces are not ready to fight on alone.

Most begin their responses to the question of the troops' US presence with an obligatory nod to Iraqi national pride; no-one here wants the "occupier" to stay on forever. Nevertheless, it's far too soon for them to leave.

"Most of those in the Iraqi House of Representatives would like to see the presence of the US forces over for good," said Amira al-Baldawi, a Shiite member of Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's ruling coalition.

"Everybody wishes them to leave, even the US forces themselves, but this initiative would be catastrophic if carried out before Iraq manages to set up its security forces," she told AFP

"We need some time to complete our army. Gradual and programmed withdrawal is very important," she insisted.

On the other side of the sectarian divide, leading Sunni lawmaker Nasser al-Ani, was in agreement with his Shiite colleague.

As is usual, he blamed the current violence on Washington's 2003 decision to dissolve ousted dictator Saddam Hussein's army, but then went on to ask that US troops not be in a hurry to leave.

"The security apparatus could not yet take control of the situation," he said. "There was a liquidation of the best security forces and and their top leaders, so a sudden American exodus would constitute a problem."

Both US President George W. Bush and Iraq's Maliki, unlikely allies united by their tumbling domestic support and opposition to rapid troop withdrawal, had hoped to postpone this debate until September.

Bush's commander in Iraq, General David Petraeus, and the new US ambassador in Baghdad, Ryan Crocker, are due to give their assessment of the success or otherwise of the former's vaunted "surge strategy" on September 15.

Under this plan, the US military deployed five extra combat brigades in order to win back control of Baghdad and give Maliki's government space to embark on a programme of national reconciliation.

However, successes against Al-Qaeda and other armed groups in Baghdad and Al-Anbar province have been tempered by bloodshed further afield, such as Saturday's truck bomb in a northern village that left 140 dead.

Meanwhile, opinion polls show record numbers of American voters think the invasion was a mistake and more and more US lawmakers - including former Bush supporters - are falling behind moves to force a withdrawal timetable.

On Monday, the New York Times reported that this pressure has triggered talk in the White House that Bush might pre-empt a legislative ambush by announcing plans to move US troops from the battlefield into training roles. - AFP/de