Contradicting McCain, Another Iraqi Official Calls for Timetable For Withdrawal

Yet another Iraqi official is specifying the need for deadlines for U.S. troops to leave their country, casting doubt on John McCain's claim that the Maliki government is not, in fact, interested in a timetable for withdrawal.

On Thursday, the Washington Post reported that U.S. officials were growing confident that Iraqi security forces would be ready to shoulder operational burdens by mid-2009. Buried in the piece was a quote from Iraqi spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh, who declared that a U.S. pullout from Iraq could be by "2011 or 2012."

"We don't have a specific date in mind," he said, "but we need to agree on the principle of setting a deadline."

The remarks come less than a day after McCain insisted Iraqi leaders were not calling for a timetable for U.S. troop withdrawals. The Senator and his campaign have argued that statements of the like from the Maliki government should be seen as efforts both to curry favor among the Iraqi populace and secure a more favorable status of forces agreement with the United States.

"Actually, the Iraqis are not [calling for a timeable]," said McCain. "The Iraqis were widely reported as short a time ago as a couple of weeks ago that there would be no status of forces agreement, and Maliki would say that, and it got headlines, and of course it turned out not to be true."

Iraq scholars in the United States have also expressed skepticism regarding the sincerity of Maliki's posturing.

"The overall message is good for the U.S. (if not necessarily for either U.S. candidate for president, in a zero sum competitive sense): the Iraqis are starting to feel more confident and capable," said Michael O'Hanlon, a vocal proponent of the war and a fellow at the Brookings Institute. "Also their domestic politics push them a bit towards this kind of talk. But be careful; we aren't hearing too many specifics about drawdowns, which should tell you something."

And yet, al-Dabbagh is now -- at the very least -- the third public official in Iraq to stress the need for timeline. On Monday, Prime Minister Maliki suggested that a withdrawal schedule was a prerequisite for any long-term agreement with the United States. On Tuesday, National Security Adviser Mowaffaq al-Rubaie went even further.

"We can't have a memorandum of understanding with foreign forces unless it has dates and clear horizons determining the departure of foreign forces. We're unambiguously talking about their departure."

And from the perspective of the presidential campaign it is hard not to see how this benefits Barack Obama. As the Illinois Democrat inevitably gets criticized from the GOP for pursuing troop withdrawal timelines, he merely needs to pivot and argue that it is the policy wish of the Iraqis. As Michael Goldfarb, an aide to John McCain, told the Huffington Post on Wednesday, even the Arizona Republican "has always been clear that American forces operate in Iraq only with the consent of that country's democratically elected government."

Comments

[getoffmedz]

Make no mistake about it. Iraq has wanted us to leave for the past two years. And the Iraqi parliament has been PASSING resolutions to that effect for at least 18 mos.

When the U.S. is ultimately thrown out, all those U.S. military esources will be dumped into the War in Afghanistan, some will be redeployed to Kuwait and the Reservists and National Guard will return home to the absolute worst economy in decades.

heckofajob

Want more of this insanity? Vote Republican.

[scaramouche]

Remember what I've said all along.... WE AIN"T GOING TO GET OUT OF IRAQ. So stop beating this dead horse. Neither party will extricate us until the oil contracts have been signed, the oil infrastructure is repaired and and the safety of this investment is guaranteed to line the coffers of the international plunderers who planned this land grab as far back as Reagans miserable tenure.. Tape this note to your ice box and read it again in five years and join the Yogi fan club. " Deja vu All over again."

[SMP]

Mr War McCain wont have anything to talk about if we set a timetable for pullout of Iraq. War is all he knows and he aint very good at that either. Oh an How about his TOP ECONOMIC ADVISOR:

" We are in a "mental resession" and the nation is a bunch of WHINNERS. Maybe me and my family wouldnt whine if our wallets were a fat as theirs, and I wouldnt have to worry about gas or food on my table. GO AWAY WAR MCCAIN...and take your ADVISORS with you!!!!


The networks are hardley talking about this statement from Phil Gramm. talk about being disingenious.

[RacePace7]

McCain is definitely the most pessimistic about Iraq's capabilities to look after their own security. Even though over 300,000 Iraqi Security Forces have been training for the past 3 years and McCain says al Qaeda in Iraq has been decimated, he predicts that if we withdraw US troops, there will be mass genocide and al Qaeda will follow us home.

That's why McCain always says "we're winning" and never "the Iraqis are winning." He always skirts the issue of how many more years or decades of training the over 300,000 ISF need.

Then again, maybe it's finally dawned on him that Malaki is now best buddies with Ahmadinejad. Maybe McCain wants to keep a major force of US troops in Iraq as long as Iraqi and Iranian leaders are negotiating with each other without pre-conditions. That's probably why he figures we'll be there for the next 100 years.

[AnnieinOR]

We are looking more and more like oppressors the longer we occupy a foreign country - what did we say about Russia??? China????

[poco767b]

three words for the Iraqi Government.
"declaration of independence"

[peterg76]

Okay, is there anyone or anything that *doesn't* contradict McCain? Even McCain contradicts McCain.

[MissingAmerica]

This war doesn't seem to be about Iraq; it seems to be about the GOP!

[blaqntelligence]

It never was about Iraq. Iraq was just collateral damage as the criminal-in-chief set about fattening the bank accounts of all his buddies.

[MaryinMontcoPA]

...AND securing permanent military bases for a right-wing, fundamentalist-infiltrated US military accompanied by high-paid, steroid-abusing mercenaries. As if our country could sustain any such imperial madness, given what it's done to our economy already.

[2bad]

you're absolutely right missingamerica. remember what eisenhower said, beware of the "military industrial complex". that's exactly what the war in iraq is/was about!

[BhunduBoy]

Not only contradicts McCain. It contradicts mainly Bush and all AIPAC thugs.

[poco767b]

How dare they tell a vastly superior invading force when to leave. Do they really still think that America is there for THEIR benefit?

[hark]

"but we need to agree on the principle of setting a deadline."

Excuse me, but how in hell does that wishy-washy statement constitute a firm demand to leave Iraq within a specified time?

Please.

This is a non-story. It's simply political doubletalk to placate some of the factions there.

[PharmBoy]

Time table? Not going to happen. No way we'll leave before the job is done regardless of what any Iragi official says. We finally have damn thing just about wrapped up... to the great disappointment of most of the anti-war left, and some still want to try and loose it by giving the enemy a date for withdrawal.

We won the war. Now lets keep the peace. Stay until we know our gains will be permanent.

[mcole]

are you serious?
what enemy? cos all you are fighting are iraqis. you are mainly refeering a civil war.
what have you got wrapped up?
no, no i know you werent serious.

sorry i missed the sarcasm...i see it now! yeah, lol!

[lobear00]

Pharmboy the only war you believe you won is still festering within your own little mind. Go back and play with your little GI Joe games.

[Jaml3000]

who's the enemy? the iraqis didn't attack us, and the al qaeda that we propped up there do not represent a problem that the locals can't handle. so stay and babysit sunni & shia from fighting each other. that's a helluva foreign policy. we pay trillions for a babysitter, meanwhile, the kids in afghanistan are being neglected & running wild.

who wouldn't be anti- such a stupid war? it's only you neo-conservative loons that are for nation building.

[Binx101]

What gains ?? What are you talking about ??

We invaded a country that is believed to have 20% of the World's oil. In our name - government officials have been cooking up deals to steal their oil and give them an allowance.

Oh .. you mean these gains.

1. Triple the gasoline prices in the US
2. Estimates of over 1 million human beings dead -including American military lives
3. An estimated 4.5 million Iraqi's displaced
4. Regular extermination of Iraqi Catholics
5. National debt that underwritten by foreign governments
6. The destruction of the American military to the such an extent that the only way the US could protect itself against foreign threat is by launching a nuclear attack

Read number 6 very carefully - this is the undertone of everything that your pals have been praying for when they have BBQ's at Perl's or Krystoll's summer house. This is why they don't give a rat's butt about veterans or active military for that matter.

Binx101
The Almost Daily Binx
http://binx101.wordpress.com

[newworldman777]

Pharmboy, have you been huffing those defoliant fumes again? I thought that we put a lock on that chemical shed.

Exactly what "gains" do you want to make permanent? Iraqi oil fields? Yeah, right. Try telling the Iraqi people -- or the Chinese, or the Indians -- that we want to take over the Iraqi oil fields. The wary world already has their justifiable suspicions about the actual intent of our illegal invasion of Iraq. Take my word for it: Few countries will stand idly by while greedy American capitalists attempt to steal Iraqi oil.

Let's not escalate this into WW3. The Israelis will do a fine job on that front when they attack Iran and then expect America to come to their aid (which we will undoubtedly do, implanting ourselves directly in the middle of that impending cataclysmic fiasco).

[Soothsayer08]

How many people in the new Iraqi government have to tell the US to leave, before McBush believes it?They know that McCain = Bush How long it will be, if ever, before the Neo Cons decide to tell the truth, that we are staying until the OIL deals are signed ? As we withdraw we will see the price of oil drop. It's already gone down with the time table talk that's been going on for a few days.

[independent32955]

the WHOLE POINT of having a withdrawal schedule hasn't got ANYTHING to do with letting our enemies lay in wait ... al qeada should be utterly disseminated long before we reach our get out of iraq date.

That is the single point Obama should make...our exit strategy is to leave by X...the plan is to have the enemy so far removed from the picture that X is merely the scheduled date for our orderly transition to the bonafide government of iraq to take over.

the republicans are wholly disingenuous when they argue that dems want to cut and run or want to lose this war. the truth is the GOP doesn't want to actually WIN IT, they WANTED the iraqis to be beholden to the US forever (see McCain's comments about envisioning this as a Korea-type engagement).

That is the main point that Obama should be making. If we TRULY want to bring democracy to iraq and hold iraq up as a beacon of freedom in the Middle East, our GOAL as a country SHOULD be our withdrawal from iraq. The idea of timelines being something that the enemy could use is utterly ridiculous (or at least it should be).

[JoeBlough]

There is no such thing as surrender in a military occupation. We are neither fighting a country nor an army. There is no one to whom we could surrender to and there is no one who could surrender to us.

This whole idea is just more Republican mind-games and Americans fall for it every time. That"s why they vote against their own self interest.