Vader

I say it's proof that Al Maliki is a willing participant in a shiite circle jerk with the shiite ****bags in Iran.

__________________

hrdman2luv

BERLIN - Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki says U.S. troops should leave Iraq "as soon as possible," according to a magazine report, and he called presidential candidate Barack Obama's suggestion of 16 months "the right timeframe for a withdrawal."

In an interview with Germany's Der Spiegel magazine released Saturday, al-Maliki said he was not seeking to endorse Obama. The Illinois senator and likely Democratic nominee has pledged to withdraw combat troops from Iraq within 16 months if he is elected.

"That, we think, would be the right timeframe for a withdrawal, with the possibility of slight changes," al-Maliki was quoted as saying. "Those who operate on the premise of short time periods in Iraq today are being more realistic. Artificially prolonging the tenure of U.S. troops in Iraq would cause problems."

Asked when U.S. forces would leave Iraq, he responded, "As soon as possible, as far a we're concerned."

In Iraq on Saturday, Sadiq al-Rikabi, an adviser to al-Maliki, declined to discuss the prime minister's published remarks, but he said Iraqi officials do not intend to be "part of the electoral campaign in the United States."

"We will deal with any administration that comes to power," he said.

Obama's Republican presidential rival, John McCain, has supported Bush administration policy opposing a set timetable for taking troops out of Iraq.

"Barack Obama advocates an unconditional withdrawal that ignores the facts on the ground and the advice of our top military commanders," McCain foreign policy adviser Randy Scheunemann said Saturday. "John McCain believes withdrawal must be based on conditions on the ground.

"Prime Minister Maliki has repeatedly affirmed the same view, and did so again today. Timing is not as important as whether we leave with victory and honor, which is of no apparent concern to Barack Obama," Scheunemann said in a statement.

Just days ago McCain told reporters on his campaign bus that Maliki "has exceeded a lot of the expectations."

"I think that much to the surprise of some Maliki has proved to be a more effective leader," McCain said Tuesday in New Mexico.

The national security adviser to the Obama campaign, Susan Rice, said the senator welcomed al-Maliki's comments.

"This presents an important opportunity to transition to Iraqi responsibility, while restoring our military and increasing our commitment to finish the fight in Afghanistan," Rice said in a statement Saturday.

Obama arrived on his first visit to Afghanistan on Saturday, less than four months before the general election. He also is expected to stop later in Iraq.

McCain has criticized Obama for his lack of experience in the region. The Arizona senator has suggested he would pursue an Iraq strategy "that's working" — a reference to the troop buildup credited for sharply reducing violence in the country.

Al-Maliki is scheduled to visit Germany next week for talks with Chancellor Angela Merkel and business leaders amid a renewed German push in helping to rebuild Iraq. Berlin had opposed the 2003 U.S.-led invasion of Iraq.

Iraqi PM says US should leave as soon as possible - Yahoo! News

__________________
"A vote for a Democrat or a Republican in 2008, is a wasted vote"

Zyphlin

Moderator's Warning:

DP Moderator says Poster should learn to read similar headlines as soon as possible.... Merged

__________________
Obama Wins. Time to reach for the new American Dream: "Strive for Mediocrity, avoid success, get free crap"

Kernel Sanders

Not so fast

Source [ CNN]

Hatuey

Same difference when he's head of state.

__________________
Is Intolerant Because He Won't Let The Intolerant Run Other People's Lives.

DarkWizard12

So a head of state from another country has the authority to order the head of state of another country? Is that like saying an Admiral can order around a General?

If you want to be ordered around from this guy, provided the fact that not even his own government has given him the authority, you go move there.

Navy Pride

Not exactly my left wing friend:

Townhall.com::The News::News ArticleIraqi leader: US should leave as soon as possibleIraqi leader: US should leave as soon as possible

In Baghdad, however, the chief spokesman for al-Maliki issued a statement Sunday saying the prime minister's comments were "not conveyed accurately" by Germany's Der Spiegel magazine.

Spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh said al-Maliki did not endorse a specific timetable but instead discussed a "an Iraqi vision" of U.S. troop withdrawals based on negotiations with Washington and "and in the light of the continuing positive developments on the ground."

__________________
http://www.swiftvets.com/

vetsforfreedom.org

TacticalEvilDan

Um, actually, yeah, if such an order is over foreign agents in his state.

It really doesn't matter what you're the President or Prime Minister or Emperor of -- if you're playing in someone else's sandbox, you're either occupying their sandbox as a conqueror, or you're there at their leisure.

If we aren't there at the leisure of the Iraqis, then Bush needs to admit that we're occupying Iraq and that the Iraqi government is just a sock puppet.

__________________
DURKA DURKA JIHAD

"No man is good enough to govern another man without that other's consent."
-- Abraham Lincoln

Summerwind

And then there's this: Maliki's Praise for Obama: Iraqi Leader Stirs up US Campaign - International - SPIEGEL ONLINE - News

From Spiegel:

A Baghdad government spokesman, Ali al-Dabbagh, said in a statement that SPIEGEL had "misunderstood and mistranslated" the Iraqi prime minister, but didn't point to where the misunderstanding or mistranslation might have occurred. Al-Dabbagh said Maliki's comments "should not be understood as support to any US presidential candidates." The statement was sent out by the press desk of the US-led Multinational Force in Iraq.

A number of media outlets likewise professed to being confused by the statement from Maliki's office. The New York Times pointed out that al-Dabbagh's statement "did not address a specific error." CBS likewise expressed disbelief pointing out that Maliki mentions a timeframe for withdrawal three times in the interview and then asks, "how likely is it that SPIEGEL mistranslated three separate comments? Matthew Yglesias, a blogger for the Atlantic Monthly, was astonished by "how little effort was made" to make the Baghdad denial convincing. And the influential blog IraqSlogger also pointed out the lack of specifics in the government statement.<snip>

So it looks like there is some question about your article. I also found somewhere that CentCom released al-Dabbagh's statement which seems kind of funky to me. I'll see if I can find a link to that, though it was a liberal source, so I'm sure you won't accept it.

Oh, here is a link to the actual interview. SPIEGEL Interview with Iraq Leader Nouri al-Maliki: 'The Tenure of Coalition Troops in Iraq Should Be Limited' - International - SPIEGEL ONLINE - News

section eight

We are there at their leisure but A) Maliki was misquoted, and B) Maliki is not the dictator of Iraq, the Iraqi parliament must pass into law a bill calling for a timetable or an immediate withdrawal that's how it works in a democracy.