Maliki endorses Obama’s plan for withdrawal from Iraq.
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 as a Center for American Progress report explains, it is also logistically workable — despite what reporters such as ABC’s Martha Raddatz have suggested. Maliki’s comments come as Obama begins his trip in the Middle East, which will include Iraq. Full interview with Maliki here. (HT: Democracy Arsenal)
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“…Maliki said he did not want to recommend who people should vote for.”
A position I strongly support, especially since all indications are that he does want people NOT TO VOTE for George WTF.
July 19th, 2008 at 9:55 am“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.
Mr. Prime Minister, please understand that when you say “The Americans”, you are really talking about President Bush and his administration. He really doesn’t speak for us. Officially, he does, but in reality his views are the opposite of about 75-80% of our country.
And you are right. A concrete timetable for exit is not an admission of defeat. Especially when I hear conservatives say, “Let’s declare victory and get out.” How can they complain about seeing it as a defeat when they are going to declare it a victory no matter what?
And Mr. Prime Minister, we’re glad to see you’re siding with the forces of Goodness and Light in our upcoming elections.
July 19th, 2008 at 9:57 amThe recent developments with regard to troop draw-down in Iraq are certainly interesting. It kind of feels like McNumbNuts has climbed way out on the limb with GDumbya and it is now being sawed off behind them.
It is especially interesting that this is all unfolding just as Obama is visiting the area and talking with our military and Iraqi leaders. Very interesting, indeed.
July 19th, 2008 at 10:00 amSee, we told you The Obama fellow was in tune with the Islamoists.
-Right Wing Fruitbat Brigade
July 19th, 2008 at 10:02 amSome five years after the U.S.-led invasion, there are still some 146,000 U.S. soldiers in Iraq.
And weren’t there about 130,000 troops there in Jan ‘07? So, if the “Surge” is over, then this was really an escalation, wasn’t it?
July 19th, 2008 at 10:12 amOh, no, Wayne. A surge is different than an escalation.
Just as a “timetable for withdrawal” is different than “a time horizon with aspirational goals”.
/sarcasm off
July 19th, 2008 at 10:18 amOT — It sure would be nice for TP to start an Open Thread on the weekends like Think Fast postings every weekday morning. It would be nice to be able to discuss some of the happenings that go on even when TP is not posting articles. You know, like Phil Gramm stepping down late Friday afternoon and, from last weekend, the IndyMac debacle. How about it, TP?
July 19th, 2008 at 10:23 am“leaving when we owe the Iraqis so much”
Translation: “leaving before we have nailed down long-term oil contracts and gotten assurances for oil field security”.
July 19th, 2008 at 10:23 amFrom the last link (WaPo):
But he faces questions from McCain and some military commanders about the rigidity of that timetable and about his initial opposition to a policy that has resulted in a dramatic reduction in violence there.
This is a lie! The right-wing continues to promote that the lie that the “dramatic reduction in violence” is the “result” of Bush’s “policy”. Manner factors brought about the reduction in violence, and some of them had nothing to do with what we were doing.
They are applying the Logical Fallacy. Just because Event B (a reduction in violence) followed Event A (The Surge), does not mean that Event A (The Surge) caused Event B (the reduction in violence). Don’t give total credit where it is not due.
July 19th, 2008 at 10:23 amThe Phil Gramm departure was very interesting. It looks like McNumbNuts “forgave” him and re-appointed him as a spokesman so that Gramm could then “resign with dignity”.
July 19th, 2008 at 10:25 am…so that Gramm could then “resign with dignity”.
And go home and watch his soft-core porn. (“Truck Stop Women” – Executive Producer Phil Gramm)
July 19th, 2008 at 10:30 amAnd the beat goes on Says:
July 19th, 2008 at 10:23 am
Good luck with that. We asked for a weekend open thread for a LONG time, and nothing. Not even a thread with nothing on it — just Open Thread. I really don’t see why TP won’t do that.
July 19th, 2008 at 10:35 amYou know, like Phil Gramm stepping down late Friday afternoon and, from last weekend, the IndyMac debacle.
Or the IndyMac debacle that was a result of the policies Phil Gramm was advising John McCain to embrace.
July 19th, 2008 at 10:40 amWhy not just turn this into one?
Shame about those baby penquins….
July 19th, 2008 at 10:41 amThose poor penguins…
July 19th, 2008 at 10:46 am…And “backup” can’t seem to see any noticeable climate changes….
July 19th, 2008 at 10:48 amGOP cyber-security expert suggests Diebold tampered with 2002 election
I hope TP is interested in Election Fraud. We hear the Republicans cry about it and change the law to prevent election fraud that was never happening, but we rarely hear about the actual election fraud that the Republicans have been committing.
July 19th, 2008 at 10:49 amdbadass Says:
Why not just turn this into one?
Shame about those baby penquins….
July 19th, 2008 at 10:41 am
Yep, that’s the thing to do. Just post what you want!
July 19th, 2008 at 10:53 amNevar Says:
…And “backup” can’t seem to see any noticeable climate changes….
July 19th, 2008 at 10:48 am
It must get cold once in a while where he lives.
We had a horrendous winter in Idaho. I was amazed at how many people were saying things like, “It looks like that Global Warming thing is over,” and they were completely serious. Jeebus, people are dumb sometimes. A lot of times…
July 19th, 2008 at 10:55 amMaliki(translation)”You got rid of Saddam, now get the f***k out.”
July 19th, 2008 at 10:56 amZooey Says:
Yep, that’s the thing to do. Just post what you want!
Oh, you can’t do that. The TP moderators will shut you down if you veer off-topic . . .
right?
July 19th, 2008 at 10:57 amI like pie.
July 19th, 2008 at 10:59 amI like pie
I like Devil’s Food Cake with vanilla icing.
July 19th, 2008 at 11:01 amHi John Kerry:
July 19th, 2008 at 11:01 amWhy not stay awhile? There is so much I want to ask you
Strawberry Rhubarb rocks!
July 19th, 2008 at 11:02 amOh, John Kerry, you’re so out of touch with reality.
I’ll repeat what I said before about the surge “working”, and this time I’ll correct the typos since you didn’t understand it before:
This is a lie! The right-wing continues to promote that the lie that the “dramatic reduction in violence” is the “result” of Bush’s “policy”. Many factors brought about the reduction in violence, and some of them had nothing to do with what we were doing.
They are applying the Logical Fallacy. Just because Event B (a reduction in violence) followed Event A (The Surge), does not mean that Event A (The Surge) caused Event B (the reduction in violence). Don’t give total credit where it is not due.
July 19th, 2008 at 11:03 amMaliki has a penchant for making subtle but clear points. Subtle, John Kerry, look it up.
July 19th, 2008 at 11:04 amDbadass, are you going to put the kettle on?
July 19th, 2008 at 11:08 amOnly if John Kerry doesn’t run away as per his usual MO
July 19th, 2008 at 11:13 amgummitch Says:
Oh, you can’t do that. The TP moderators will shut you down if you veer off-topic . . .
right?
July 19th, 2008 at 10:57 am
Riiiight…
I like lime fruit popsicles.
July 19th, 2008 at 11:20 amI like chocolate mayonnaise cake, without frosting.
July 19th, 2008 at 11:37 amChocolate mayonnaise cake?
July 19th, 2008 at 11:41 amI agree. Chocolate mayonnaise cake?
July 19th, 2008 at 11:46 amOf course, the supposedly “liberal biased” mainstream news media is desperately searching their thesaurus for any term to describe this latest gigantic FLIP-FLOP as anything other than a gigantic FLIP-FLOP. Here are some terms used by both reporters and Bush administration officials from today’s Chicago Tribune:
…a marked softening…
…an evolution in policy…
…”a little bit of a shift, or at least a shuffle,…”
The shift…
The administration’s shift…
…a recent series of dramatic adjustments…
The White House shift…
The move reversed…
“Now we can have goals…”
July 19th, 2008 at 11:57 amI don’t like cake. Let’s stick with pies. Oyster pie anyone?
July 19th, 2008 at 12:14 pmThank you PM al-Maliki.
Since chimpy invaded and occupied your land for oil and there has been only chimpy’s election rules (same as here) how does your country feel?
chimpy wants your oil because it’s the most valuable substance on earth, right now. look what it bought chimpy.
July 19th, 2008 at 12:16 pmI’ve never met a pie I didn’t like.
July 19th, 2008 at 12:18 pmWayne A. Schneider Says:
Some five years after the U.S.-led invasion, there are still some 146,000 U.S. soldiers in Iraq.
And weren’t there about 130,000 troops there in Jan ‘07? So, if the “Surge” is over, then this was really an escalation, wasn’t it?
repugs won’t answer a question truthfully. It’s like they say “look over there” and when one look back at them, they’d supposedly changed. they look so stupid and useless.
BTW — what is a “surge?” I imagine blow-torch raids and such. Am I close?
July 19th, 2008 at 12:28 pmGame of Life , If you insist on staying on topic, YOU WILL BE FLAGGED
July 19th, 2008 at 12:32 pmApple is my favorite. But Mincedmeat is just wrong.
July 19th, 2008 at 12:36 pmI can live without Shoofly
July 19th, 2008 at 12:36 pmRandomChaos:
July 19th, 2008 at 12:37 pmTry a nice Lancaster County PA mincemeat and you might come around.
I have a pretty mundane pallet and my taste buds are seemingly pessimistic ;’(
July 19th, 2008 at 12:41 pmNice try, dbadass, you CANNOT live without Shoofly!!
July 19th, 2008 at 12:45 pmSorry, dbadass, it’s just been a long time since I’ve had shoofly.
July 19th, 2008 at 12:46 pmHow many here beleive that the neocons are actually “shifting” (For the moment I am not using the term FF) thier stance because it is..
July 19th, 2008 at 12:53 pm1. What the people want
2. The right thing to do
Or does anyone feel (much like I do) that..
1. It is just another politicized ploy to affect the elections.
2. Groundwork for pre-emptive strikes against Iran. (See. we tried to talk to them, but.. you know)
Or…
1. Attempt at improving Chimpy’s legacy.(to little to late)
Maliki should tell Bush to go eff himself over the SOFA agreement and wait out the election cycle.
July 19th, 2008 at 12:56 pmBushitCo, increasingly, painfully irrelevant.
If you like pie you have to watch the movie “Waitress”.
July 19th, 2008 at 1:00 pmRandomChaos,
Bush is not FLIP-FLOPPING on Iraq because it’s the right thing to do, or because it’s what people want. Bush is FLIP-FLOPPING because Iraq has a big election in October, and Maliki could lose to Muqtada al-Sadr if he doesn’t get some commitment to start removing American troops from Iraq.
Bush is so frightened of Sadr that he just threw John McCain under the bus!
July 19th, 2008 at 1:02 pmNone of us here believe they’re doing it for the right reasons.
July 19th, 2008 at 1:04 pmHussein McCain Says:
Game of Life , If you insist on staying on topic, YOU WILL BE FLAGGED
:)
July 19th, 2008 at 1:08 pmchimpy isn’t flip-flopping, the flop is flipping.
July 19th, 2008 at 1:51 pmWell John Kerry you are a freaking MORON. Just how stupid are you anyway? You have shown in your brainwashed world of arrogant stupidity that you in NO way have any dim idea what you are talking about. The violence being down is NOT the only thing the surge was supposed to do. It was supposed to bring political stability yet the Iraqi government STILL has zero credibility among the Iraqi people and never WILL have as long as we stay in Iraq. Maliki HAS called for us to leave. I am not sure if you are a liar or just bone ignorant
The Iraqis have said they would reject ANY security pact that didnt have a hard timetable for US withdrawl. If you stop getting your news from whatever rightwing screechmonkey you have chosen to do your thinking for you and visited us on Planet Earth you might know these things instead of being so incredibly ignorant. I get this news might not reach the neandrathals on Planet Wingnut but you only make a fool of yourself trying to sell this idiocy to those of us in the reality based universe. Go to your proctologist, get your head removed from that dark dank orifice where you get your facts and stop embarassing yourself you knuckledragging cretin
July 19th, 2008 at 2:00 pmEugeneDebs, the smart money says the troll that has stolen the name of the honorable Viet Nam war veteran, John Kerry, is “bone ignorant” but he’s probably a liar too.
July 19th, 2008 at 2:09 pmPecan is a darn good one and as weird as it may seem, upstate NY offers a great grape pie.
July 19th, 2008 at 2:09 pmAnd the trailer-park favorite: Frito pie!
July 19th, 2008 at 2:25 pmAbout a year ago I made a crawfish pie because the recipe looked cool and I just happened upon a bunch of crawfish meat. It was awful. Does anyone know how to make that sort of thing properly or is it suppose to be awlful?
July 19th, 2008 at 2:54 pmof and what lawr1999 said…
July 19th, 2008 at 2:54 pmFrito pie must be made with bologna. It probably only tastes good when eaten within the confines of the trailer park though, just like hot dogs are better at the ball park.
July 19th, 2008 at 3:15 pmmaybe I should cut down on the number of awls. Even if it still tastes nasty atleast it will be less pointy…
July 19th, 2008 at 3:18 pmIt probably only tastes good when eaten within the confines of the trailer park though, just like hot dogs are better at the ball park.
Bingo!
And yes, I’ve served a few terms in the sheds; in Oklahoma, no less.
July 19th, 2008 at 3:24 pmIt will be interesting to observe the verbal gymnastics as the WH disputes this story after distributing it to the press.
July 19th, 2008 at 3:25 pmdbadass Says:
Does anyone know how to make that sort of thing properly or is it suppose to be awlful?
It involves marinading, in an alcohol-laden sauce.
And after you’re good and tanked, you deep-fat fry it, smother it in bar-b-que sauce, and hawk it down.
Yeehaw!
July 19th, 2008 at 3:29 pmMy Favorite is that Lo-Calorie Favorite…”Pie in the Sky”
OT
For more than forty years , Conservative Republicans have been selling a myth articulated by Ronald Reagan:
“The nine most terrifying words in the English language are: ‘I’m from the government and I’m here to help.’”
This has always been bullsh*t, but the GOP “populist” hype offensive has sold this idea to America. Now, it is almost a common wisdom that government always fails and is always incompetent.
Shake it off.
The Government can help and we should expect it to do so.
A big part of our task in taking back this Country is restoring honor to public service and exposing the cynicism of the Republican Corruptionist Party and their sycophants in the media. The problem is not the government. The problem is that Conservatives have been in charge for most of the last forty years.
July 19th, 2008 at 3:41 pmThis Rant was borrowed from Thomas Frank (What’s the matter with Kansas…)
http://dailykos.com/storyonly/2008/7/19/15630/9610/492/553791
July 19th, 2008 at 3:47 pmStick a fork in the GOP it’s done.
July 19th, 2008 at 4:00 pmcd ~ I usually use a meat thermometer, but I wouldn’t want it to get damaged from the acid blood that flows in the GOP veins.
July 19th, 2008 at 4:41 pmFrom Ezra Klein via the American Prospect:
To really understand the importance of Maliki’s comments, you need to consider their opposite. Imagine if Maliki had walked in front of the cameras and said, “at this stage, a timetable for withdrawal is unrealistic, and we hope our American friends will not bow to domestic political pressures and be hasty in leaving Iraq just as the country improves.” It would be a transformative moment in this election. John McCain would talk of nothing else. The cable shows would talk of nothing else. Magazines would run thousands of covers about “Obama’s Iraq Problem.” Obama would probably lose the race.
Good Point.
July 19th, 2008 at 4:43 pmI wonder is Obama going to continue Bush’s Military Economy?
–and get us Mired in Afghanistan instensively for 8 years?
while our country continues to crumble?
Is Obama going to protect the 4th Amendment and undo his vote for the FISA Amendment Act of 2008?
July 19th, 2008 at 5:38 pmI know the tea party (linked) mmcchimpy spoke and received some bs CC award is total fiction. Ah man, say it’s fiction. HAHAHAHA
chimpy is turning liberal/democratic. But it’s all a f lie.
July 19th, 2008 at 5:51 pmFinally a President who can talk to a peaceful end. I doubt if Iraqis want halliburton/blackwater in their country.
From Ezra Klein via the American Prospect
What if a frog had wings?
July 19th, 2008 at 5:59 pmHaven’t you heard? When the Democrats called for a TIMELINE of withdrawl, Obama did well over a year ago, it was called defeat. But Bush changed the name. It is now called a TIMED HORIZON. Anyone can see that’s different. Right?
I remember when an ESCALATION was just that. Now it is called a SURGE. See the difference? Right? I wonder if Americans are really as stupid as the administration believes? Yes, I’m afraid so.
Bush is doing something now, because he thinks that if he does this small bit, then the Republicans might get in again via McCain. In other words BUSH=MCCAIN. We will then forget
July 19th, 2008 at 8:20 pmthis illegal fiasco.
How long will it be until Obama proposes a withdrawal plan for Afghanistan, so Afghans do not have to fear that American bombs will continue to rain down on their villages and homes? Or will Obama continue to insist that Americans must stay in Afghanistan to fight the so-called “good war”?
July 19th, 2008 at 8:55 pmMcCain is once again switching positions on Iraq. How many more switches are up his sleeve between now and November. It seems that it was only two days ago that he was predicting massive terrorist attacks in Iraq in the coming weeks. The proper response to that prediction would be to increase the troop strength. Now he is getting on the bandwagon for a 16 month withdrawal. He can’t have it both ways. So, just where does McCain stand?
July 19th, 2008 at 9:26 pmJohn Kerry, are you at all bothered by the fact that much of the reduction in violence has come because we are giving american taxpayer money to people who used to be killing our soldiers? does this bother you at all?
July 19th, 2008 at 9:41 pmThis is another example that the “old world jounalism of Murrow, Cronkite and Rather is dead and buried. In the case of the Time Magazine reporter Ms Tumulty, she seems to think the finding out the who, what, where, when and how have been replaced with a steno pad, which she records what ABC said in rebuttle to the complaint of Congressman Kucinich. There is a great disconnect with what happened and the points made by ABC. She asks little of no questions to ABC. She takes what is handed to her and repeats it vebatim and then calls that reporting. I call is stenography. Lida Sohbet sohbet sesli chat Gelinlik Modelleri
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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.
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