Check the Kerning!
Eschaton — Maliki endorses Obama's timetable: In an interview with Der Spiegel released on Saturday, Maliki said he wanted U.S. troops to withdraw from Iraq as soon as possible. "U.S. presidential candidate Barack Obama talks about 16 months. That, we think, would be the right timeframe for a withdrawal, with the possibility of slight changes."

NURI ♥ OBAMA
Rising Hegemon — Ol' Huggy is gonna be leaving a skid mark in the adult diaper when he hears about this one: In an interview with Der Spiegel released on Saturday, Maliki said he wanted U.S. troops to withdraw from Iraq as soon as possible. "U.S. presidential candidate Barack Obama talks about 16 months. That, we think, would be the right timeframe for a withdrawal, with the possibility of slight changes."

Another Transcription Error?
Talking Points Memo — From Reuters: Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki told a German magazine he supported prospective U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama's proposal that U.S. troops should leave Iraq within 16 months. In an interview with Der Spiegel released on Saturday, Maliki said he wanted U.S. troops to withdraw from Iraq as soon as possible. "U.S. presidential candidate Barack Obama talks about 16 months. That, we think, would be the right timeframe for a withdrawal, with the possibility of slight changes." You'll ...

Facts on the Ground
Matthew Yglesias — ... It's unremarkable on its own terms for someone to tell a periodical that they think Barack Obama is basically right about Iraq, but in this case the person talking is Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki being interviewed by Der Spiegel so that seems pretty noteworthy. We shouldn't slavishly adhere to whatever the Iraqi government happens to want (if they say we need 100,000 soldiers in Iraq for the next 20 years, we need to tell them no way) but as even John McCain and George Bush used to admit if the Iraqis want us to leave we really have to leave. ...

It's Over
democracyarsenal.org — Not much to say here.  Other than the fact that this is a huge huge huge deal.  Article speaks for itself. In an interview with Der Spiegel released on Saturday, Maliki said he wanted U.S. troops to withdraw from Iraq as soon as possible. "U.S. presidential candidate Barack Obama talks about 16 months. That, we think, would be the right timeframe for a withdrawal, with the possibility of slight changes" And Asked if he supported Obama's ideas more than those of John McCain, Republican ...

Obama In Afghanistan; Iraqi PM Endorses Obama Plan Of Withdrawal
TalkLeft — ... but the big political news imo is that Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri Al-Maliki told the German magazine Der Speigel that he agrees with Barack Obama's plan for Iraq: ...

Iraqi PM Backs Obama's Plan... Except He Wants to Win
Gateway Pundit — ... As Peter Wehner put it, "Obama, was not only wrong about the surge; he was spectacularly wrong. Instead, the War in Iraq is won and the US surge troops are returning home in victory. So, what is the media supposed to do with their favorite son who shrugged at genocide in Iraq? Thy're going to make it sound like Obama was right all along... Reuters today announced that PM Maliki backs Obama troop exit plan. ...

Fight War, Not Wars
The Latest on Air America — ... only creates a trap for McCain. If McCain embraces the time-horizons, he shatters his own previous argument that such a thing will bring national ruin and indicates a certain moral and strategic turpitude on the part of its advocates. His only solution is to magically pretend that Bush's move isn't politically motivated and hope no one laughs at him. But now Maliki evidently wants to stick it to McCain, an indicator that the Iraqi PM knows who's going to be president next January. Reuters reports that Maliki has embraced Obama's 16-month withdrawal plan . The Iraq war is and ...

Maliki endorses Obama’s plan for withdrawal from Iraq.
Think Progress — ... Today, Der Spiegel reports that Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has endorsed a 16-month timetable for the United States to withdraw from Iraq: ...

Quote For The Day
The Daily Dish | By Andrew Sullivan — ... "U.S. presidential candidate Barack Obama talks about 16 months. That, we think, would be the right timeframe for a withdrawal, with the possibility of slight changes," - Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki. ...

Obama’s Magical Mystery Tour
The Moderate Voice — ... Physical security aside, Obama may get a warm reception in Baghdad if what Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has told the German magazine Der Spiegel about troop withdrawal is any indication. ...

Visiting Baghdad
Political Animal — ... first time in years, Baghdad felt almost like a normal city to me. Regardless of what you think is responsible for this turnaround, this is what Barack Obama will see when he visits Iraq later in his world tour. As a result, Iraqi prime minister Nouri al-Maliki wants to take the next step: drawing down the American troop presence in order to placate public opinion and allow political reconciliation to move forward too. "U.S. presidential candidate Barack Obama talks about 16 months," he told ...

MSM SPINNING VICTORY IN IRAQ AS IF IT VINDICATES OBAMA AND THE ANTI-SURGE DOVES
THE ASTUTE BLOGGERS — ... Wehner put it: "Obama, was not only wrong about the surge; he was spectacularly wrong. Instead, the War in Iraq is won and the US surge troops are returning home in victory. So, what is the media supposed to do with their favorite son who shrugged at genocide in Iraq? They're going to play it off like Obama was right... Reuters today announced that PM Maliki backs Obama troop exit plan. ...

QFT
Some Guy With a Website by August J. Pollak - xoverboard.com — ... To really understand the importance of Maliki's comments, you need to consider their opposite. Imagine if Maliki had walked in front of the cameras and said, "at this stage, a timetable for withdrawal is unrealistic, and we hope our American friends will not bow to domestic political pressures and be hasty in leaving Iraq just as the country improves." It would be a transformative moment in this election. John McCain would talk of nothing else. The cable shows would talk of nothing else. Magazines would run thousands of covers about "Obama's Iraq Problem." Obama would probably ...

Some Quotes
Matthew Yglesias — Here's National Review on Barack Obama's plan for Iraq last week: We haven’t won the Iraq war, of course, which is why the debate over it is so consequential. Obama took to the pages of the New York Times Monday to explain, “My Plan for Iraq.” He reiterated his support for a 16-month pullout. We think — and certainly hope — that somewhere deep inside Obama realizes how unworkable and risky this timeline would be. And here's the Prime Minister of Iraq: U.S. presidential candidate Barack Obama talks about 16 ...

Maliki Endorses Obama's Democratic Timetable for Iraq
Taylor Marsh — ... This is going to infuriate the McCainiacs. But it’s just another sign that redeployment is an idea whose time has come. Via Reuters: ...

Iraqi PM Maliki Endorses Obama’s Withdrawal Plan
The Moderate Voice — ... Lost amidst the hoopla of Obama’s overseas trip is a statement issued by Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki to the German magazine Der Spiegel . ...

Maliki Isn't Endorsing Anyone, But...
Daily Kos — This will certainly test John McCain's famous temper: Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki told a German magazine he supported prospective U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama's proposal that U.S. troops should leave Iraq within 16 months. "U.S. presidential candidate Barack Obama talks about 16 months. That, we think, would be the right timeframe for a withdrawal, with the possibility of slight changes." Asked if he supported Obama's ideas more than those of John McCain, Republican presidential hopeful, Maliki said he did ...

Victory's 1001st Father
baldilocks — You have to "admire" Barack Obama's ability (audacity) to get out in front of a passing parade and become its leader, while MSM entities like Reuters are content to carry on with the months-long process of anointing him. As he begins his international campaign tour--touching down in Afghanistan today--Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki endorses Obama's post-inaugural plan for Iraq . BERLIN (Reuters) - Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki told a German magazine he supported prospective U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama's proposal that U.S. troops should leave ...

Obama Scores with Maliki Quote on Withdrawal
PoliBlog: A Rough Draft of my Thoughts — Via Reuters: Iraqi PM backs Obama troop exit plan: report Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki told a German magazine he supported prospective U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama’s proposal that U.S. troops should leave Iraq within 16 months. [...] “U.S. presidential candidate Barack Obama talks about 16 months. That, we think, would be the right timeframe for a withdrawal, with the possibility of slight changes.” This strikes me a boon for ...

Maliki Endorses Obama Plan (But For How Long?)
The Anonymous Liberal — Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki reportedly said the following in an interview with the German news magazine Der Spiegel: "U.S. presidential candidate Barack Obama talks about 16 months. That, we think, would be the right timeframe for a withdrawal, with the possibility of slight changes."That quote, at least for now, provides a golden talking point for the Obama campaign. Obama's plan, after all, has been widely ridiculed and criticized by John McCain and the GOP as reckless, irresponsible, and not reflective of the facts on the ground in ...

Gumboots
the talking dog — ... to President Obama in a position to blame the inevitable disaster following our inevitable departure on the Democrats... and by God, that's what he seems to be hinting at. So... even as Iraqi PM al-Maliki seems to be mirroring Sen. Obama's calls for a 16-month ...

Maliki, the Politician
Roger L. Simon — ... One indication that Iraq may actually be evolving into a democracy is that its Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki seems to be emerging as a genuine “pol” of the type we are used to in the West.  His interview with Der Spiegel is right out of the conventional politician playbook, right up to the non-denial denial about taking sides in the US election.  This too sounds like a “talking point” from one of our Sunday morning “Sabbath gasbags”: “The Americans have found it difficult to agree on a concrete timetable for the exit because it seems ...

The Iraqi Prime Minister May Have Been Born A Muslim
pandagon.net - we are the public option — The Iraqi Prime Minister, Nuri Al-Maliki, endorses Barack Obama’s withdrawal plan for Iraq. Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki told a German magazine he supported prospective U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama’s proposal that U.S. troops should leave Iraq within 16 months. In an interview with Der Spiegel released on Saturday, Maliki said he wanted U.S. troops to withdraw from Iraq as soon as possible. “U.S. presidential candidate Barack Obama talks about 16 months. That, we think, would be the right ...

This One Is on the House
Whiskey Fire — ... and may not want a withdrawal at all.... I suspect that Obama will find much in Iraq that he hasn’t known before announcing his policies, including how dependent Iraq remains on its American partner for stability, security, and logistics in the short- to mid-term.  Maybe he should have waited to talk to Maliki first before jumping on a misreported statement to write his op-ed, a point that Lindsey Graham more or less made on the conference call today. Today, Nouri al-Maliki: Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki told a German ...

McCain Aide: Voters Don’t Listen to Maliki
The Page by Mark Halperin — ... An unnamed senior McCain official responds to Saturday’s report that Iraqi PM Maliki supports Obama’s withdrawal plan. ...

Withdrawal from Iraq in the cards?
Angry Bear — Maliki agrees with 16 month Obama plan. Any context to add? And this means what in terms of numbers (is down to 50,000 troops enough?), air bases maintained of the main four to six, the embassy maintained as built? Any reporters want to fantasize or link?

Maliki: Timetable; Bush: Time Horizon
PoliGazette — ... a “general time horizon” for withdrawal of American troops from Iraq.  This comes at about the time time that Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki backed Barack Obama’s 16-month plan for troop withdrawal. ...

al-Maliki Endorses Obama's Plan To End The Iraq War
DownWithTyranny! — ... only creates a trap for McCain. If McCain embraces the time-horizons, he shatters his own previous argument that such a thing will bring national ruin and indicates a certain moral and strategic turpitude on the part of its advocates. His only solution is to magically pretend that Bush's move isn't politically motivated and hope no one laughs at him. But now Maliki evidently wants to stick it to McCain, an indicator that the Iraqi PM knows who's going to be president next January. Reuters reports that Maliki has embraced Obama's 16-month withdrawal plan. ...

Iraqi Prime Minister Agrees With Obama’s Withdrawal Timeline?
Say Anything — ... BERLIN (Reuters) - Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki told a German magazine he supported prospective U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama’s proposal that U.S. troops should leave Iraq within 16 months. ...

Maliki Essentially Endorses Obama’s Iraq Plan
Crooks and Liars —   Democracy Arsenal:   Not much to say here.  Other than the fact that this is a huge huge huge deal.  Article speaks for itself. In an interview with Der Spiegel released on Saturday, Maliki said he wanted U.S. troops to withdraw from Iraq as soon as possible. “U.S. presidential candidate Barack Obama talks about 16 months. That, we think, would be the right timeframe for a withdrawal, with the possibility of slight changes”[..] And ...

Jawing Victory from the Snatch of Defeat [Dan Collins]
protein wisdom — ... : Today’s big foreign policy spin is the report that Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki has apparently backed Barack Obama’s amorphous troop withdrawal plan for Iraq. There’s ...

Maliki Endorses Obama
Agitprop: Or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Propaganda — ... The Psychogeezer™ is lucky that Iraqis can’t vote in our election: In an interview with Der Spiegel released on Saturday, Maliki said he wanted U.S. troops to withdraw from Iraq as soon as possible. “U.S. presidential candidate Barack Obama talks about 16 months. That, we think, would be the right timeframe for a withdrawal, with the possibility of slight changes.” […] Of course Maliki was coy: Asked if he supported Obama’s ideas more than ...

Iraqi Prime Minister al-Maliki Supports Obama’s Withdrawal Plans After Bush Wins War
FullosseousFlap's Dental Blog — ... The changed quote: SPIEGEL: Would you hazard a prediction as to when most of the US troops will finally leave Iraq? Maliki: As soon as possible, as far as we’re concerned. U.S. presidential candidate Barack Obama talks about 16 months. That, we think, would be the right timeframe for a withdrawal, with the possibility of slight changes. Read the entire Speigel interview here. And, then read the shortened pro-Obama Reuters version. What Reuters and other news accounts will fail to emphasize is that ...

Iraqi Prime Minister al-Maliki Supports Obama’s Withdrawal Plans After Bush Wins War; Update: Al-Maliki’s Remarks Misunderstood, Mistranslated and Not Conveyed Accurately
FullosseousFlap's Dental Blog — ... The changed quote: SPIEGEL: Would you hazard a prediction as to when most of the US troops will finally leave Iraq? Maliki: As soon as possible, as far as we’re concerned. U.S. presidential candidate Barack Obama talks about 16 months. That, we think, would be the right timeframe for a withdrawal, with the possibility of slight changes. Read the entire Speigel interview here. And, then read the shortened pro-Obama Reuters version. What Reuters and other news accounts will fail to emphasize is that ...

Ya' think?
Upper Left — An anonymous McCain "campaign official," on the Maliki endorsement of the Obama withdrawl plan… "The military says 'conditions based' and Maliki said 'conditions based' yesterday in the joint statement with Bush. Regardless, voters care about [the] military, not about Iraqi leaders."Do you believe that? Do they really believe that? Put it to the average American - the Iraqis want us out, but the generals want to stay until, well, until they want to leave. What should we do? What d'ya ...

Iraqi Prime Minister Backs Obama’s Troop Exit Plan?
The Democratic Daily — ... “U.S. presidential candidate Barack Obama talks about 16 months. That, we think, would be the right timeframe for a withdrawal, with the possibility of slight changes.” ...

NSN Daily Update: Iraqi Government Again Expresses Desire for Timetable
democracyarsenal.org — ... Obama talks about 16 months. That, we think, would be the right timeframe for a withdrawal, with the possibility of slight changes,” Maliki was quoted as saying. “Whoever is thinking about the shorter term is closer to reality. Artificially extending the stay of U.S. troops would cause problems.”  He also added that “The Americans have found it difficult to agree on a concrete timetable for the exit because it seems like an admission of defeat to them. But it isn't.” [Reuters, 7/19/08.  Der Spiegel, ...

McCain Knows Best: Rejects Maliki’s Timetable But Says ‘I Know What Iraqis Want’
Think Progress — ... This weekend, Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki said he wanted U.S. troops out of Iraq as soon as possible, supporting the plan set forth by Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL). “Obama talks about 16 months. That, we think, would be the right timeframe for a withdrawal, with the possibility of slight changes,” he said. ...

7/21: Maliki Madness
Blogometer — July 21, 2008 7/21: Maliki Madness The political blogosphere is buzzing about Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki 's apparent endorsement of Barack Obama 's 16-month troop withdrawal plan. Liberal bloggers are portraying Maliki's statement as a turning point in the U.S. Presidential race, calling it ...

Today on Doing Time - Monday July 21st, 2008
The Latest on Air America — ... him? And how has the media been portraying it? We’ll hear from Ben Smith of Politico.com  on that last point. He also has some interesting anecdotes from the world tour like the anti-terrorism dress code the Obama campaign instituted. Also, guess which magazine got banned from the campaign plane? We’ll tell you all that and then some.   The best news from abroad is that Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Al Malaki pretty much endorsed Barack Obama’s withdrawal plan.   read more

Maliki's Walk Forward
Matthew Yglesias — ... But a funny thing happened while Obama's plane was en route to its first stop in Afghanistan -- Der Spiegel published an interview with Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki in which the Iraqi leader took a rather different view. "U.S. presidential candidate Barack Obama talks about 16 months," he observed, "that, we think, would be the right timeframe for a withdrawal, with the possibility of slight changes." ...

7/22: All About Iraq
Blogometer — ... are arguing that Iraqi PM Nouri al-Maliki has ties to Iran and that the U.S. should keep its troops in Iraq for as long as it likes. IRAQ: Walking Back The Walk Back In an interview with the German magazine Der Spiegel that was released on Saturday, Iraqi PM Maliki offered a qualified endorsement of Obama's 16-month troop withdrawal plan. After concerned Bush administration officials ...

Unqualified
HorsesAss.Org — ... Now that we know that Iraqi Prime Minister al-Maliki supports Obama’s troop withdrawal timetable, it’s pretty clear which of the two major candidates is more in tune with what’s happening in the region. McCain continues to claim that the surge has worked, but that’s taking a very loose definition of “worked.” If the surge worked, the Iraqi leaders would have made political breakthroughs that would have allowed us to scale back our presence. That hasn’t happened. And in fact, the occupation continues to ...

Declare Victory and Don't Go Home
At-Largely — ... Then, as Obama was visiting Afghanistan, Maliki told the German magazine Der Spiegel "U.S. presidential candidate Barack Obama talks about 16 months. That, we think, would be the right timeframe for a withdrawal, with the possibility of slight changes." ...

Why McCain Lost, The Short Version
Firedoglake — ... 1) Iraqi government insists on timetable, endorses Obama's withdrawal plan. This effectively killed the McCain candidacy. McCain's brand -- even his campaign logo -- is national security. Iraq was the reason he won the primary. Iraq was the central and really, only justification of his candidacy ("I know how to win wars."). Even more damaging, he'd been railing against timetables for months, equating withdrawal with "surrender." ...

Tom Ricks and the American Caesar's Ghost
At-Largely — ... when, how and if an Iraq troop drawdown would occur, giving Petraeus unilateral control of U.S. foreign policy. In the summer of 2008, when then candidate Barack Obama started talking about a 16-month withdrawal deadline and Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al Maliki said that sounded about right, you could almost hear Petraeus screeching What a world! What a world! from Baghdad to Washington. If you listened closely, you also heard the propaganda campaign to sell America on an endless occupation of Iraq click into high gear.

American Caesar's Ghost
Antiwar.com Original — ... when, how, and if an Iraq troop drawdown would occur, giving Petraeus unilateral control of U.S. foreign policy. In the summer of 2008, when then-candidate Barack Obama started talking about a 16-month withdrawal deadline and Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki said that sounded about right, you could almost hear Petraeus screeching What a world! What a world! from Baghdad to Washington. If you listened closely, you also heard the propaganda campaign to sell America on an endless occupation of Iraq click into high gear. On Feb. 2, foreign policy analyst ...

The Long-War Generals
Antiwar.com Original — ... ( JFQ ) article, Mullen wrote that every day, troops asked him questions like "What if a Democrat wins? What will that do to the mission in Iraq?" (Italics Mullen's.) The article's title (Irony winks) was "From the Chairman: Military Must Stay Apolitical." Also that month, right after Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki agreed with candidate Obama that 16 months would be the right interval for a withdrawal timeline, Mullen warned on ...