"We are in no way abiding by this report," said Kurdish regional President Massud Barzani, a key US ally.

"Despite our thanks and gratitude for President George W. Bush and the American administration for overthrowing the previous regime and their efforts for building a new Iraq, we think that the Iraq Study group has made some unrealistic and inappropriate recommendations," said Barzani's statement.

It begins by criticizing the report's authors for never visiting the Kurdish region during their nine-month-long research for the report.

Other Iraqi leaders, most of whom appear to have been familiar with the contents of the report before its official release, were cautiously optimistic about the proposals, especially those calling for national reconciliation.

Iraqi President Jalal Talabani, himself a Kurd, originally made positive noises about the report until the blistering condemnation by Barzani, his once bitter rival for power among Iraq's Kurds.

"President Jalal Talabani supports the stand of the president of the Kurdistan region Massud Barzani on the report," announced the president's office in a statement soon afterwards, in a clear effort to avoid trouble between the two powerful Kurdish leaders.

"There are certain points in the report such as the transfer of security to Iraqi control and dialogue with neighboring countries which do comply with the policy of the government of Iraq," pointed out Talabani.

In its efforts to promote greater unity for the country, the Iraq Study Group report appears to have trodden on the Kurds' toes. Their autonomous region has escaped the violence raging in the rest of the country and is practically a separate entity.

The report suggested delaying implementing constitutional article 140 calling for a controversial referendum to decide the future of the northern oil city of Kirkuk, a tense mix of ethnic groups.

"Any delay in the implementation of this article will have grave consequences and it will in no way be accepted by the people of Kurdistan," said Barzani.

He also rejected calls by the report for the Kurdish region to share the revenue of its newly discovered oil resources with the rest of Iraq, as is currently the case with revenue from existing resources.

Barzani also rejected a larger role for Iraq's neighbors, of whom Turkey and Iran are sworn foes of the Kurds, and turned down negotiating with the insurgency -- all major recommendations of the report.