Posted on 07/20/2008 2:46:59 AM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki did not back the plan of Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama to withdraw U.S. troops from Iraq and his comments to a German magazine on the issue were misunderstood, the government's spokesman said on Sunday.
Ali al-Dabbagh said in a statement that Maliki's remarks to Der Spiegel were translated incorrectly.
The German magazine said on Saturday that Maliki supported Obama's proposal that U.S. troops should leave Iraq within 16 months. The interview was released on Saturday.
"U.S. presidential candidate Barack Obama talks about 16 months. That, we think, would be the right time frame for a withdrawal, with the possibility of slight changes," Der Spiegel quoted Maliki as saying.
Dabbagh said statements by Maliki or any other member of the government should not be seen as support for any U.S. presidential candidate.
Obama is visiting Afghanistan and is set to go to Iraq as part of a tour of Europe and the Middle East.
Maliki's remarks were published a day after the White House said he and President George W. Bush had agreed that a security agreement currently being negotiated between them should include a "time horizon" for withdrawal of U.S. troops.
Bush has long opposed setting a timetable for withdrawal, and the White House said the time horizon agreed by the two leaders was not as specific as a time frame pushed by Democrats and could be adjusted based on conditions on the ground.
Both CNN and FNC have statements up on the web sites stating that Der Speigel misrepresented the Maliki statement. ABC, CBS and NBC do not have similar statements posted.
So, you can imagine how the remarks will be covered.
MTP will fall over the genius Obama; ABC will claim Obama is the messiah, and FTN will claim that the Bush admin called Maliki and threatened him if he didn’t correct the statement.
My guesses anyway.
Kraut press -LIARS
The mainstream media -LIARS
Don’t tell Matt Drudge. He’s all Obama all the time.
Drudge posted the denial statement last night; I sent it to him twice (the second time with a note saying he is leaving the impression he is into spin, not news, because he was not posting the denial statement).
Ah HA!
Given their abysmal ratings, it won't matter, eh? :)
Accident, my derriere. My only question: What was the intent of the person who did it?
I'm sorry 2ndDivisionVet, but Prime Minister al-Maliki is clearly a closet racist, bitter over his experience of the last few years, and clinging to the assurances of the United States.
He has no credibility and should not be listened to, the news anchors will be on today to explain things.
Besides, if Obama leaves in a hurry, and al Qaida turns up in Iraq, we'll just go back in.
I'm reminded of McGovern's call to invade Cambodia in the late 70s. After building his national reputation on leaving the region.
And I'm sure it was all just a mistake. Nothing intentional. No agenda. Right?
And YET- as of 30 seconds ago Drudge has THIS as his major headline:
MAG: IRAQ LEADER SUPPORTS OBAMA PLAN
In smaller type he has:
Iraqi PM disputes report on Obama withdrawal plan...
High Volume. Articles on Israel can also be found by clicking on the Topic or Keyword Israel. or WOT [War on Terror]
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Someone needs to talk to al-Maliki and explain this is a political campaign, and he has no business messing it up with his clearly uninformed opinions. The guy doesn't even speak Spanish*.
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Pure uninformed speculation, he may well speak Spanish, and be able to say more than merci beaucoup in French, he's not the messianic candidate for President of the United States after all. So apologies to al-Maliki if he can say more than gracias, and if not, at least educate your kids.
Oh no, say it isn’t so! The Moonbats “LIED” again? Well golly gee darn! Yeah, I’m being sarcastic, but we must PRAY the American people will be sick and tired of the Obama klan and their lies in November and vote against them. In doing so, this time next year we can all expound from time to time on Obama who? Oh that nightmare?
Shalom ! Be Blessed!!
Drudge has been so far up the Obama Klan’s rump, I don’t click on his site anymore. Many have said Drudge supports Obama. If so, Drudge certainly will never get my support again.
Last I looked this morning he still had the big headline favoring obambi and up on the left in red the ‘correction’.
Yes that is correct, but at least he has the correction which he did not put up until last night, hours after it was a well known fact.
The only way the story will go away is if Maliki tells Obamabi to his face that his plan is stupid and withdrawal will be based on success not some arbitrary timeline. Of course, even then, the media probably will not correct the story; their love affair with/for Obama is unending.
Sure he didn’t back Obama but what he did do was agree the timeline. Cat is out of the bag. Too late for revisionist type stories.
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