Protest

[StephanieVanbryce]

Maliki Doesn't Endorse Obama Troop Withdrawal Plan (Update3)

By Tarek Al-Issawi

July 20 (Bloomberg) -- Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki hasn't endorsed any specific plan for the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq, a government spokesman said, a day after a magazine report that he backed Barack Obama's proposal.

Al-Maliki supports a ``general vision'' of U.S. troop withdrawal from Iraq and has not backed a plan by Obama, the presumptive U.S. Democratic presidential candidate, for a 16- month withdrawal window, government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh said in an e-mailed statement in Baghdad today.

Germany's Der Spiegel magazine yesterday published on its Web site a transcript of an interview it conducted with al-Maliki in which the Iraqi leader noted Obama ``talks of 16 months'' and said ``that, we think, is the right timeframe for a withdrawal, with the possibility of slight changes.''

Comments al-Maliki made to the magazine were ``misunderstood and mistranslated'' and were not ``conveyed accurately,'' al- Dabbagh said in the statement.

Remarks made by the prime minister or any member of the Iraqi government ``should not be understood as support to any U.S. presidential candidate,'' the statement said.

White House spokesman Scott Stanzel today said that U.S. embassy officials in Baghdad spoke to the Iraqi government ``and explained how the interview was being interpreted. The Iraqis were not aware and wanted to correct it.''

`Stands by Its Story'

An article about the reaction to the interview that appeared today on Spiegel's Web site mentioned al-Dabbagh's statement and then said: ``Der Spiegel nonetheless stands by its story.''

Obama, 46, has said he would remove U.S. combat troops from Iraq by mid-2010, shifting some brigades to Afghanistan. The Illinois senator will visit Iraq this week for the first time since 2006 as part of an overseas trip aimed at countering criticism from Republican rival John McCain that he lacks national-security experience.

Yesterday, Susan Rice, a senior national security adviser for Obama's campaign, said that the Illinois senator ``welcomes'' Maliki's remarks. Today, spokeswoman Jen Psaki said she couldn't immediately comment on the latest statements.

McCain, his party's presumptive presidential nominee, opposes Obama's timetable for withdrawal. McCain, who was critical of President George W. Bush's early management of the Iraq war, supported the increase in U.S. troops ordered by Bush more than a year ago. Obama opposed putting more troops into the country.

150,000 Troops

The U.S. has cut its presence to about 150,000 troops in Iraq from more than 160,000 at their peak late last year. The intensity of fighting has waned since March while the number of U.S. soldiers who died in Iraq in May was 19, the lowest monthly total since the start of the war.

``The only reason that the conversation about reducing troop levels in Iraq is happening is because John McCain challenged the failed Rumsfeld strategy in Iraq and argued for the surge strategy that is responsible for the successes we've achieved and which Barack Obama opposed,'' McCain spokesman Tucker Bounds said yesterday in an e-mailed statement, referring to former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld.

Bush and Maliki have agreed that a ``general time horizon'' is needed for the reduction of U.S. combat troops in Iraq, according to the White House. The two leaders, speaking July 18 by video conference, agreed that improving conditions in Iraq should permit setting goals for further drawdowns of U.S. forces, spokeswoman Dana Perino said in a statement that day.

Excerpt

Following is an excerpt of Spiegel's interview with al- Maliki as translated by Bloomberg News.

Spiegel editors Mathias Mueller von Blumencron and Bernhard Zand conducted the interview in Baghdad, the magazine said. It didn't specify when the interview took place, or in what language.

Spiegel: When will the majority of U.S. troops finally leave Iraq?

Maliki: As far as we're concerned, as soon as possible. U.S. presidential candidate Barack Obama talks of 16 months. That, we think, would be the correct period of time for the withdrawal, with the possibility of slight changes.

Spiegel: Is that an endorsement for the U.S. presidential election in November? Does Obama, a civilian, understand Iraq better than his rival John McCain, a war hero, at the end of the day?

Maliki: Whoever bargains on short-term time limits is closer to the reality. Artificially extending the time that U.S. troops stay would cause problems. That being said, of course I don't want to give any endorsement. Electing a president is something Americans themselves have to do. The job of Iraqis is to say what we want. And here the people and the government are in agreement. Coalition troops should be in Iraq for a limited time.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=atqYi2NQ6vfc