Maliki endorses Obama’s Iraq strategy — by name

Americans have a clear choice in the election. On the one hand, we have a candidate who wants a flexible, 16-month withdrawal policy from Iraq, shaped by conditions on the ground and in consultation with commanders on the ground. On the other hand, we have a candidate who wants the status quo to continue indefinitely, waiting for a yet-to-be-defined “victory,” followed by an indefinite military presence in Iraq.

And while Americans consider their options, it seems Iraqi officials have already reached their own conclusion. Reuters has this stunning story.

Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki told a German magazine he supported prospective U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama’s proposal that U.S. troops should leave Iraq within 16 months. 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.” It is the first time he has backed the withdrawal timetable put forward by Obama, who is visiting Afghanistan and us set to go to Iraq as part of a tour of Europe and the Middle East.

By any reasonable measure, this is pretty extraordinary. The Bush-backed Iraqi prime minister has endorsed Obama’s withdrawal policy, both in general and by name.

In fact, it gets better. Maliki, hailed by Republicans, has given up on Republican talking points altogether.



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.”

Maliki added, “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.”

It’s extraordinary. Assuming the report is accurate, and that there wasn’t some kind of translation problem, the prime minister of Iraq believes John McCain is wrong about everything — the utility of withdrawal, the notion of “defeat,” the extended stay, everything.

About a week ago, Maliki was publicly moving in this direction, but now he’s dropped the pretense. Obama, the prime minister believes, has the right policy, and McCain has the wrong one.

I can’t wait for a) McCain to explain why Maliki’s opinion about events in his own country don’t matter; and b) the media to explain to me why this is good news for McCain.