Al-Maliki’s Moonwalk
20 July 2008 10:03 am by Taylor Marsh
BY TAYLOR MARSH
Well that
was quick, just as predictable and screamingly obvious. But “SPIEGEL
sticks to its version of the conversation,” as they should.
Obama is pleased, but McCain certainly is not. In an interview with SPIEGEL,
Iraqi Prime Minister al-Maliki expressed support for Obama’s troop withdrawal
plans. Despite a half-hearted retraction, the comments have stirred up the
US presidential campaign. SPIEGEL stands by its version of the conversation….… .. A number of media outlets likewise professed to being confused by
the statement from Maliki’s office. The New York Times pointed out
that al-Dabbagh’s statement “did not address a specific error.”
CBS likewise expressed disbelief pointing out that Maliki mentions a timeframe
for withdrawal three times in the interview and then asks, “how likely
is it that SPIEGEL mistranslated three separate comments? Matthew Yglesias,
a blogger for the Atlantic Monthly, was astonished by “how little effort
was made” to make the Baghdad denial convincing. And the influential
blog IraqSlogger also pointed out the lack of specifics in the government
statement. …
Bush
moves fast to reign His Man Maliki in.
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.Al-Maliki was quoted in an interview with Germany’s Der Spiegel magazine
published on its Web site yesterday as saying Obama’s plan 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. …
The U.S. presidential election has officially gone international.
“Under my thumb” would have been a good subtitle. The stakes couldn’t be higher for Bush and McCain. With Maliki endorsing a set timeline just like the Democrats have been arguing for years, not only does Bush lose his legacy, but McCain loses the only issue he’s got. Republicans will do anything and everything to make sure this one doesn’t stick.
This Ben Smith title is a hoot.
