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Iraqi Support Bolsters Obama's Withdrawal Plan

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The New York Times

Published: July 22, 2008

BAGHDAD - The Iraqi government on Monday left little doubt that it favors a withdrawal plan for U.S. combat troops similar to what Sen. Barack Obama has proposed, providing Obama with a potentially powerful political boost on a day he spent in Iraq working to fortify his credibility as a wartime leader.

After a day spent meeting Iraqi leaders and U.S. military commanders, Obama appeared to have navigated one of the riskiest portions of a weeklong international trip without a noticeable hitch and to have gained a new opportunity to blunt attacks on his national security credentials by his Republican rival in the presidential race, Sen. John McCain.

Whether by chance or by design, Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki chose a day when Obama was in the country to provide the government's clearest statement yet about its views on the withdrawal of U.S. troops.

After a weekend of dispute about precisely what al-Maliki was suggesting, his spokesman, Ali al-Dabbagh, told reporters in Baghdad, "We cannot give any timetables or dates but the Iraqi government believes the end of 2010 is the appropriate time for the withdrawal."

Obama has said he would seek to withdraw U.S. combat forces over 16 months if he is elected president, starting upon taking office in January, meaning his plan would be completed on roughly the same timetable as suggested by the Iraqis.

The Bush administration has signaled a willingness to work with the Iraqis on their desire to begin setting at least a general "time horizon" for reducing the U.S. military presence, leaving McCain at risk of becoming isolated in his position of firm opposition to a withdrawal timetable.

Complicating McCain's Argument

The central tenet of Obama's foreign policy suddenly is aligned with what the Iraqis themselves increasingly seem to want.

Not only have the developments offered Obama a measure of credibility as a prospective world leader in a week when his every move is receiving intensive attention at home and abroad, but it has complicated McCain's leading argument against him: that a withdrawal timeline would be tantamount to surrender and would leave Iraqis in dangerous straits.

McCain is hardly conceding the point. He continued to hammer away at Obama's judgment on national security, saying Monday that Obama had gotten it badly wrong when he opposed sending additional U.S. troops last year to help stabilize Iraq.

Republicans said Iraq would never have reached the point where it could reasonably call for a reduction in U.S. presence without the troop increase, a policy championed by McCain over the objections of Obama and most Democrats.

"The fact is, if we had done what Sen. Obama wanted to do we would have lost," McCain said in Kennebunkport, Maine. "And we would have faced a wider war. And we would have had greater problems in Afghanistan and the entire region. And Iran would have increased their influence."

U.S. military commanders have also expressed qualms about setting a specific timetable for withdrawal, suggesting that to do so could risk reversing the progress made in Iraq since the United States increased its troop presence last year.

On Sunday, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs, Adm. Michael Mullen, told Fox News that the consequences of setting a two-year timeline for removing U.S. combat troops "could be very dangerous."

'Recognize Iraqi Sovereignty'

During his visit to Iraq, Obama said it was important that the Iraqi government take charge of its own affairs.

"I think it is very important we build on this progress and recognize Iraqi sovereignty," he said shortly after meeting with al-Maliki and as he was starting a meeting with one of Iraq's vice presidents, Tariq al-Hashimi, a Sunni.

The talk of a strict timetable appeared to worry Hashimi. Sunni Arabs fear that a rapid withdrawal would leave them vulnerable to Shiite efforts to further diminish their power in the country. Rather, he said the emphasis should be on the Iraqi army's readiness.

Obama met with al-Maliki, Iraqi President Jalal Talabani, the Iraqi national security adviser, Mowaffak al-Rubaie, and other Iraqi officials at the prime minister's residence in the Green Zone.

He and the two senators traveling with him, Chuck Hagel, R-Neb., and Jack Reed, D-R.I., had dinner with Gen. David Petraeus, the top U.S. military commander, and U.S. Ambassador Ryan Crocker.

PAPER DEFENDS REJECTING McCAIN ARTICLE

WASHINGTON - The New York Times defended its decision not to publish an op-ed article as submitted by Republican John McCain about the Iraq war on grounds it customarily reviews such pieces with the author.

"It is standard procedure on our op-ed page, and that of other newspapers, to go back and forth with an author on his or her submission. We look forward to publishing Sen. McCain's views in our paper just as we have in the past," said David Shipley, an op-ed editor at the paper.

The Associated Press

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