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IMHO, Shadid, has been down on and reporting more or less against the war and the mission from the get go. It is no surprise that he gives voice to these people in this manner.

Here's an example of him speaking of the way the Iraqi people are thinking about the US presence in Iraq, in September 3005:

I think there's another viewpoint out there, and it's voiced less often but it is heard, and that's only with a military withdrawal could you reformulate this political process. In other words, the Sunni Arabs will never join the political process as long as it's taking place under what they see as an occupation. If you ended that occupation, you might be able to incorporate Sunni Arabs into politics basically and start the process of reconciliation. I don't see it necessarily likely, but it is set out, it is spoken out there. And it could be something short of withdrawal. It could be a timetable set for withdrawal that would at least introduce a new dynamic into the political process and maybe make some kind of change possible, because I think even U.S. officials, both political and military, in Iraq at this point are -- the political process as it is does not seem like it's heading toward a more stable Iraq at this point, and there is maybe a sense that you need a new dynamic introduced to shake it up. That's one scenario offered out there, that even a timetable might induce Sunnis to join the political process in a more forceful way.