If Maliki said this, you can be sure that the people he's afraid of, al-Sadr and company, will be standing behind him with a daily calendar, tearing off each day as it passes.
If you think PM Maliki is worried one whit about the American people, you're wrong. He's worried about the Shia powerbrokers, and they won't let him forget about this statement, any more than a bookie would forget about a million dollar gambling debt.
Naah, Iraq is a home country of Baghdad Bob, of rhetorical exaggeration, empty promises and drivers using both sides of the road to drive (right and left).
Nobody will keep track.