Predictably, the Iraqi government doesn’t like the fact that there are foreign troops in their country. Today while in Iraq, Senator Obama sat down with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki to discuss the state of Iraq. After the meeting, al-Maliki’s spokesman said “We are hoping that in 2010 that combat troops will withdraw from Iraq.” This discounts the idea that Der Spiegel mistranslated al-Maliki’s statement about an American withdrawal. Al-Maliki’s Vice President Tariq al-Hashemi echoed this statement and said that he would be happy if American troops left by December 31st, 2010. This is a fairly similar timeline to the one proposed by Obama earlier in the campaign cycle.
Despite this, McCain still opposes withdrawal despite a saying in April of 2004 that “It is obvious we would have to leave if they asked us to leave. This once again leaves Obama looking like he can see what has to be done with McCain looking like he’s behind the times.
July 22, 2008 at 12:43 am
McCain isn’t the only one that opposes and Obama has to stand face to face with this great man! We know who will lose. http://xrl.us/nxzjd
July 23, 2008 at 7:06 pm
I never said McCain was the only one who opposes a timed withdrawal. The post was about Iraq’s desire for our troops to leave, the election, and the fact that McCain is once again acting like a hypocrite. Petraeus simply isn’t relevant to the story. Iraq is a sovereign nation and thus is well within their rights to say they want our troops to leave.