The other thing, you got to understand the Arabs. They will make these sorts of rumors and pronouncements in public while behind the scenes urging Petraus on. A lot of times in Counter Insurgency the Govt has to make these sorts of pronouncements to disarm the enemies propaganda that they are just the Americans lackeys and stooges. They need, from time to time, to prove their independent of the foreign supporter.
That one of the frustrating things about Counter Insurgency for a Westerner. A lot of time you got to deal with the bad to fight the worse. Westerners in general, and American especially, hate these sorts of necessary compromises and half measures. I blame it on Hollywood. They have a misguided, idea of how the real world works.