Paul Revere by Cyrus Dallin, North End, Boston

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Saturday, July 19, 2008

MALIKI AGREES WITH OBAMA'S WITHDRAWAL TIMETABLE

Maliki endorses Obama’s plan for withdrawal from Iraq.

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:

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.” […]


Asked if he supported Obama’s ideas more than those of John McCain, Republican presidential hopeful, Maliki said he did not want to recommend who people should vote for.

Whoever is thinking about the shorter term is closer to reality. Artificially extending the stay of U.S. troops would cause problems. […]

“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,” Maliki told Der Spiegel.
Not only is the plan now accepted by Iraqis, but it is also
logistically workable, despite what reporters such as ABC’s Martha Raddatz have suggested.

http://thinkprogress.org/2008/07/19/maliki-endorses-16-month-us-withdrawal-from-iraq/

Senator Obama is proving to be quite adept at foreign policy.

3 comments:

Patrick M said...

One problem: Obama has been talking about 16 months for 16 months. And at this point in time, it's finally looking doable.

If you throw out the same number long enough, it's bound to be right eventually.

Anonymous said...

No. He means when he became president.

On that time/horizon/table/pullout, he's in sync with the Iraqi govt.

Handsome B. Wonderful said...

Did you see the video of Obama playing hoops entertaining the troops in Kuwait? It was cool to see him let loose for them.Check it out here on my blog.