WINGNUTS TRY A COUNTER-NARRATIVE

And fail miserably. A few were trotting out the meme that Maliki had been mistranslated by Der Spiegel but that won't wash because the magazine used Maliki's own translator, as the NY Times noted:

But the interpreter for the interview works for Mr. Maliki’s office, not the magazine. And in an audio recording of Mr. Maliki’s interview that Der Spiegel provided to The New York Times, Mr. Maliki seemed to state a clear affinity for Mr. Obama’s position, bringing it up on his own in an answer to a general question on troop presence.

The following is a direct translation from the Arabic of Mr. Maliki’s comments by The Times: “Obama’s remarks that — if he takes office — in 16 months he would withdraw the forces, we think that this period could increase or decrease a little, but that it could be suitable to end the presence of the forces in Iraq.”

Spiegel Online (Der Spiegel) stands by its translation:

MALIKI'S PRAISE FOR OBAMA

Iraqi Leader Stirs up US Campaign

Obama is pleased, but McCain certainly is not. In an interview with SPIEGEL, Iraqi Prime Minister al-Maliki expressed support for Obama's troop withdrawal plans. Despite a half-hearted retraction, the comments have stirred up the US presidential campaign. SPIEGEL stands by its version of the conversation.

The McCain campaign and some wingnuts have tried to re-spin this as a vindication of McCain and the Surge BUT WHY DIDN'T McCAIN SAY THIS BEFORE MALIKI DID?