PRES. MALIKI SEZ "OBAMA HAS THE RIGHT PLAN"

(h/t Attaturk)

Iraqi PM backs Obama troop exit plan: report
Sat Jul 19, 2008 7:38am EDT

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.

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."

It's will be hard for the wingnuts to ignore this because even FAUX News carried the story. Here's the original in Spiegel Online (Der Spiegel):

07/19/2008
'AS SOON AS POSSIBLE'

Iraq Leader Maliki Supports Obama's Withdrawal Plans
In an interview with SPIEGEL, Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki said Barack Obama's 16 timeframe for a withdrawal from Iraq is the right one.

Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki supports US presidential candidate Barack Obama's plan to withdraw US troops from Iraq within 16 months. When asked in and interview with SPIEGEL when he thinks US troops should leave Iraq, Maliki responded "as soon as possible, as far as we are concerned." He then continued: "US 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."

Maliki was careful to back away from outright support for Obama. "Of course, this is by no means an election endorsement. Who they choose as their president is the Americans' business," he said. But then, apparently referring to Republican candidate John McCain's more open-ended Iraq policy, Maliki said: "Those who operate on the premise of short time periods in Iraq today are being more realistic. Artificially prolonging the tenure of US troops in Iraq would cause problems."

Some wingnut war whore reaction:

Roger L. Simon tries to downplay the announcement by saying Maliki is just a typical politician. I left this comment on his post: "Obama 1 McCain NIL." It's "awaiting moderation" and because Simon banned me from his own blog, I really doubt that my post will be allowed.

Allahpundit at Hot Air tries to make it seem like Der Spiegel selectively quoted Maliki.