WASHINGTON, April 13: The United States would be accused of leaving Iraq in chaos if it left the war-torn country “too soon,” says Deputy Secretary of Defence Paul Wolfowitz.

Addressing a group of Arab and Muslim journalists in Washington on Friday, Wolfowitz said the United States had entered Iraq to do a job and would leave once that job is finished. Questions raised at the briefing, which was also addressed by Gen. Peter Pace of the US Marine Corps, reflected the concerns being expressed across the Arab and Islamic worlds about Iraq’s future.

Several journalists wanted to know if and when the US would leave Iraq while others asked which was the next Arab or Muslim country that America was going to attack. “If we leave too soon, everyone will say you left the place in chaos and created more suffering by departing too quickly,” said Wolfowitz while explaining how long the United States intends to stay in Iraq. But “we are not occupying — let me say very clearly,” he added. “We are not occupying an Arab country. We are removing a regime that’s a threat to the US, a threat to the world, and has clearly been a threat and an abuser ... of the Iraqi people for decades.”

The coalition forces, he said, were not finished with that job yet. “When we are finished, we’ll leave as soon as we can.”

Wolfowitz said those who doubt US intentions should look at the recent history of the region. “We liberated Kuwait and we left. We liberated northern Iraq in early April of 1991. We left on September 1st of 1991.” “We will leave as soon as we can because, believe me, we don’t need extra work to do. ... We will leave when there is a legitimate government of Iraq to hand over to,” he added.

“You’re way, way ahead of everything,” said Wolfowitz to an Arab reporter who wanted to know if the United States now wanted to bring a regime change in Syria.