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Comment Stings Iraqi Leader on Eve of Obama Visit
New York Times, The (NY) - July 21, 2008
Author: SABRINA TAVERNISE and JEFF ZELENY Carlotta Gall contributed reporting from Kabul, Afghanistan, Steven Lee Myers and Eric Schmitt from Washington, and Ali Hameed contributed reporting and translation from Baghdad.
On the eve of Senator Barack Obama ‘s visit to Iraq, its prime minister tried to step back Sunday from comments in an interview in which he appeared to support Mr. Obama ‘s plan for troop withdrawal.

The interview with the prime minister, Nuri Kamal al- Maliki , was published Saturday in the online version of Der Spiegel, a German magazine. It was widely picked up by American newspapers because it appeared to give an unexpected boost to Mr. Obama , the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, who has called for an expedited withdrawal.

The interview prompted immediate concern from the Bush administration, which called to seek clarification from Mr. Maliki ‘s office, American officials said.

Scott M. Stanzel, a White House spokesman with President Bush at his ranch in Crawford, Tex., said that embassy officials explained to the Iraqis how the interview in Der Spiegel was being interpreted, given that it came just a day after the two governments announced an agreement over American troops.

“The Iraqis were not aware and wanted to correct it,” he said.

The back-and-forth between the governments came as Mr. Obama finished a one-day trip to Afghanistan, where he met with President Hamid Karzai for nearly two hours on Sunday. Mr. Obama said the United States, NATO and Afghanistan must step up their efforts to fight the Taliban and Al Qaeda and to encourage Pakistan to eliminate terrorist training camps.

“Our message to the Afghan government is this: We want a strong partnership based on ‘more for more’ — more resources from the United States and NATO, and more action from the Afghan government to improve the lives of the Afghan people,” Mr. Obama said in a written statement, which was also signed by Senators Jack Reed, Democrat of Rhode Island, and Chuck Hagel, Republican of Nebraska, who are part of the traveling American delegation.

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