Iraq Withdrawal Comes to Light

    Coming on the heels of President Bush’s “time horizon” speech, which has been considered a withdrawal by man, Iraq Prime Minister, Nuri al-Maliki, has come in support of a more rapid withdrawal. In recent weeks, the Iraq parliament has been in deliberations, sometimes contentious, over timetable for withdrawing American forces. After last years passage of a timetable for withdrawal bill, and this years defeat of a Status of Forces Agreement, Prime Minister Maliki made clear Iraq’s stance concerning U.S. troops on Iraqi soil.

            (Reuters) - 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.

Obama has called for a shift away from a "single-minded" focus on Iraq and wants to pull out troops within 16 months, instead adding U.S. soldiers to Afghanistan.

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, who is due to visit Germany this week, has suggested a timetable should be set for a U.S. withdrawal but U.S. officials have been more cautious, despite an improving security situation.

The White House said on Friday President George W. Bush and Maliki had agreed that a security deal under negotiation should set a "time horizon" for meeting "aspirational goals" for reducing U.S. forces in Iraq. 

"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," Maliki told Der Spiegel.

Some five years after the U.S.-led invasion, there are still some 146,000 U.S. soldiers in Iraq.

http://www.reuters.com/article/vcCandidateFeed2/idUSL198009020080719?pageNumber=2&virtualBrandChannel=10112

            Though Prime Minister Maliki does not make any public endorsement of candidates, his recent comments come in the midst of a contentious Presidential race, where troop withdrawal has become one of the central points. Senator Barack Obama has called for a troop withdrawal within 16 months, while Senator McCain has left open the possibility for a long term presence. He has received harsh criticism for statements concerning a 100 year presence, while Obama has been criticized for wavering on his initial stance. Both candidates, however, have had comments taken out of context. McCain’s 100 year stance was based on a presence similar to U.S. troops stationed in Germany, Korea, and Japan. Barack Obama has stated on numerous occasions that he would listen to commanders on the ground, and not withdraw troops if it put them in harms way.  

            The Bush administrations announcement of a “time horizon,” however, has received much scrutiny, and has been considered a troop withdrawal by some, being too vague to have any substance to it’s meaning, or a result of President Bush’s troops surge. The “time horizon” speech has come after numerous attempts by the Bush Administration to establish a long term presence, which has come against opposition at the highest levels. One recent article in the Washington Post illustrated the difference in positions between the U.S. administration and Iraq senior officials:

Iraqi government spokesman Ali Dabbagh confirmed in a statement that Iraq and the United States had agreed "to specify a time horizon to achieve a full handover of security responsibility to the Iraqi forces in order to decrease American forces and allow for its withdrawal from Iraq."

But Sadiq Rikabi, a senior political adviser to Maliki, said in an interview that negotiators were still hashing out the details of troop cuts. The Iraqi government, he said, wants specific timelines governing different stages of what will eventually become a full U.S. withdrawal of combat forces.

"There are two principles that determine the military relationship: no permanent bases and no permanent existence," Rikabi said. "In such a way, there should be a timetable for withdrawal."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/07/18/AR2008071801308_2.html?hpid=topnews&sid=ST2008071900063&pos=