BAGHDAD, Sept. 11 — Iraqis reflecting on the report to Congress by General David H. Petraeus and Ambassador Ryan Crocker found themselves in a difficult spot: although there is nothing they want more than to have American soldiers leave Iraq, there is nothing they can less afford.

About 20 Iraqis of different sects and ethnicities said in interviews that they viewed the report favorably because it — or at least the parts shown on television in Iraq — portrayed the situation accurately and because it signaled that there would be little change in the status quo.

There is a rueful recognition of their vulnerability and that they must allow foreign troops to help keep order for some time to come. Politicians’ views were more modulated, but only those allied with Shiite cleric Moktada al-Sadr suggested they wanted to see a rapid decline in the American presence, and even they backed away from setting a date.

A city worker in Baquba, the capital of Diyala Province, described his ambivalence in strong terms.

“The withdrawal of the occupation forces is a must because they have caused the destruction of Iraq, they committed massacres against the innocents, they have double-crossed the Iraqis with dreams,” said Ahmad Umar al-Esawi, a Sunni worker. “I want them to withdraw all their troops in one day.”