Jump to content
Washington Football Team Logo
Extremeskins
Forum Rules and Guidelines

Iraq Leader Maliki Supports Obama's Withdrawal Plans

Duckus

By Duckus
in The Tailgate

Recommended Posts

Duckus

Duckus

Posted
Posted

From the front page of the Drudge, and pretty much every political blog in the world today. What to me makes this story almost funny, is the White House accidentally gave this information to the press by emailing it to the wrong people. :laugh:

http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,druck-566841,00.html

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."

Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki says he agrees with US presidential candidate Barack Obama's plans for withdrawing US troops from Iraq.

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."

Iraq, Maliki went on to say, "would like to see the establishment of a long-term strategic treaty with the United States, which would govern the basic aspects of our economic and cultural relations." He also emphasized though that the security agreement between the two countries should only "remain in effect in the short term."

The comments by the Iraqi leader come as Obama embarks on a trip to both Afghanistan and Iraq as well as to Europe. Obama was in Afghanistan on Saturday to, as he said prior to his trip, "see what the situation on the ground is … and thank our troops for the heroic work that they've been doing." The exact itinerary of the candidate's trip has not been made public out of security concerns, but it is widely expected that he will arrive in Iraq on Sunday to meet with Maliki.

Maliki has long shown impatience with the open-ended presence of US troops in Iraq. In his conversation with SPIEGEL, he was once again candid about his frustration over the Bush administration's hesitancy about agreeing to a timetable for the withdrawal of US troops. But he did say he was optimistic that such a schedule would be drawn up before Bush leaves the White House next January -- a confidence that appeared justified following Friday's joint announcement in Baghdad and Washington that Bush has now, for the first time, spoken of "a general time horizon" for moving US troops out of Iraq.

"So far the Americans have had trouble agreeing to a concrete timetable for withdrawal, because they feel it would appear tantamount to an admission of defeat," Maliki told SPIEGEL. "But that isn't the case at all. If we come to an agreement, it is not evidence of a defeat, but of a victory, of a severe blow we have inflicted on al-Qaida and the militias."

He also bemoaned the fact that Baghdad has little control over the US troops in Iraq. "It is a fundamental problem for us that it should not be possible, in my country, to prosecute offences or crimes committed by US soldiers against our population," Maliki said.

How it was reported :laugh: :

http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2008/07/white-house-acc.html

White House Accidentally E-Mails to Reporters Story That Maliki Supports Obama Iraq Withdrawal Plan

Link to comment
Share on other sites
BRAVEONAWARPATH

BRAVEONAWARPATH

Posted
Posted

These guys are something else. :laugh:

Ultimately we're getting out of Iraq. Its just a matter of time.

However, my biggest fear is that the surge hasn't really worked. I have a suspicion that many of the militias are just biding thier time until we pull out. :(

I could be wrong though.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
BRAVEONAWARPATH

BRAVEONAWARPATH

Posted
Posted
I guess given the choice between Obama or Maliki making U.S. foreign policy decisions, I'd take Maliki.

(Afterall, he'll probably feel the same way next week.)

Well..luckily you have McCain to vote for. You can always count on him to feel the same each week.

No flip-flopping with him. :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites
robotfire

robotfire

Posted
Posted

However, my biggest fear is that the surge hasn't really worked. I have a suspicion that many of the militias are just biding thier time until we pull out. :(

I could be wrong though.

When police move into high crime areas, eventually the crime stops. What happens when the police move to new assignments, etc, though? The crime actually continues to stay away. It's a weird phenomenon. You'd think the criminals were just waiting for the police dept to leave, but once they're gone, they're gone.
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Destino

Destino

Posted
Posted

Bush supports it too. So that means, McCain is the only wild eyed lunatic demanding the US continue to spend billions to stay in Iraq. He is also the only wild eyed lunatic that still thinks we shouldn't talk to Iran.

Vote McCain... he doesn't agree with Bush anymore! What a MAVERICK!!!!

Link to comment
Share on other sites
SteveFromYellowstone

SteveFromYellowstone

Posted
Posted
Bush supports it too. So that means, McCain is the only wild eyed lunatic demanding the US continue to spend billions to stay in Iraq. He is also the only wild eyed lunatic that still thinks we shouldn't talk to Iran.

Vote McCain... he doesn't agree with Bush anymore! What a MAVERICK!!!!

It's so funny that Bush is starting to follow Obama's "naive" foreign policy. Doesn't that somewhat trump the "experience" argument?

Link to comment
Share on other sites
MonkFan8

MonkFan8

Posted
Posted
Has anyone stepped in a black hole yet? Has anyone been to Mars? You dont have to be there to know whats going on.
Yep :cheers:

Additionally, it's funny how he can come up with a better plan for withdrawal having not been there than those who have.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
GoSkins561

GoSkins561

Posted
Posted
Has anyone stepped in a black hole yet? Has anyone been to Mars? You dont have to be there to know whats going on.

Not true, for my job and some of the work we do, it isn't possible to give an accurate estimate without actually visiting the site. Same goes for Iraq, until he actually meets with the generals on the ground and takes tours to see our progress there is no way in hell he can give an accurate assesment of what is really going on.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
twa

twa

Posted
Posted

Why is reporting so slanted ,yet ya'll eat it up? :laugh:

http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/meast/07/19/almaliki.obama/

Iraqi PM disputes report on withdrawal plan

But a spokesman for al-Maliki said his remarks "were misunderstood, mistranslated and not conveyed accurately."

Government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh said the possibility of troop withdrawal was based on the continuance of security improvements, echoing statements that the White House made Friday after a meeting between al-Maliki and U.S. President Bush.

Or the OTHER time :laugh:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7504571.stm

Emirates.

The prime minister was widely quoted as saying that in the negotiations with the Americans on a Status of Forces Agreement to regulate the US troop presence from next year, "the direction is towards either a memorandum of understanding on their evacuation, or a memorandum of understanding on a timetable for their withdrawal".

That was the version of Mr Maliki's remarks put out in writing by his office in Baghdad.

It was widely circulated by the news media, and caught much attention, including that of Mr Obama.

There is only one problem. It is not what Mr Maliki actually said.

Mixed messages

In an audio recording of his remarks, heard by the BBC, the prime minister did not use the word "withdrawal".

What he actually said was: "The direction is towards either a memorandum of understanding on their evacuation, or a memorandum of understanding on programming their presence."

Mr Maliki's own office had inserted the word "withdrawal" in the written version, replacing the word "presence".

Link to comment
Share on other sites
jpyaks3

jpyaks3

Posted
Posted
Why is reporting so slanted ,yet ya'll eat it up? :laugh:

http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/meast/07/19/almaliki.obama/

Iraqi PM disputes report on withdrawal plan

But a spokesman for al-Maliki said his remarks "were misunderstood, mistranslated and not conveyed accurately."

Government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh said the possibility of troop withdrawal was based on the continuance of security improvements, echoing statements that the White House made Friday after a meeting between al-Maliki and U.S. President Bush.

Or the OTHER time :laugh:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7504571.stm

Emirates.

The prime minister was widely quoted as saying that in the negotiations with the Americans on a Status of Forces Agreement to regulate the US troop presence from next year, "the direction is towards either a memorandum of understanding on their evacuation, or a memorandum of understanding on a timetable for their withdrawal".

That was the version of Mr Maliki's remarks put out in writing by his office in Baghdad.

It was widely circulated by the news media, and caught much attention, including that of Mr Obama.

There is only one problem. It is not what Mr Maliki actually said.

Mixed messages

In an audio recording of his remarks, heard by the BBC, the prime minister did not use the word "withdrawal".

What he actually said was: "The direction is towards either a memorandum of understanding on their evacuation, or a memorandum of understanding on programming their presence."

Mr Maliki's own office had inserted the word "withdrawal" in the written version, replacing the word "presence".

"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."

That seems pretty clear. Even if you replace "withdrawal" with "presence" it still comes out endorsing Obama's plan. If you call it presence as soon as that presence dissapears or the end of our presence then one would have to have withdrawn, correct?

The reality is both the President and the Iraqi PM are working towards a withdrawal timetable, they will splice the words and try to avoid calling it what it is, but it is going to be a withdrawal of American troops contingent of the situation on the ground something Obama's has supported.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
jpyaks3

jpyaks3

Posted
Posted
Not true, for my job and some of the work we do, it isn't possible to give an accurate estimate without actually visiting the site. Same goes for Iraq, until he actually meets with the generals on the ground and takes tours to see our progress there is no way in hell he can give an accurate assesment of what is really going on.

There is no way in hell you can really get an accurate assessment of whats going on just be visiting the site. McCain "visited" a marketplace to see how much better it was. Only he was surrounded by over 100 troops, sniper teams, dozens of armed vehicles, and attack helicopters circling overhead. Are you going to tell me he gained anything from that other then a photo op?

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Mad Mike

Mad Mike

Posted
Posted

There's a huge difference between withdrawing the troops after the surge and before. The conditions on the ground have changed. THis doesn't mean that Obama was right all along. It means that he was WRONG about the surge. It was a huge success and now that AQ has been embarassed and defeated in Iraq and now that the Iraqi government is getting strong enough to take over on it's own soon, we CAN begin to withdraw.

Obama is enjoying the windfall of Bush's success with supporters who are too foolish to know that if we had followed Obama's plan without the success of the surge, it would have been a disaster for the middle east and America.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

Go to topic listing

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...