Iraqi PM Maliki Proposes Setting Timetable for Withdrawal

So... There goes another artificial Republican talking point down the drain: Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Maliki has raised the prospect of setting a timetable for the withdrawal of American troops from Iraq. It comes as the US attempts to push through a new security deal before the end of 2008, when the UN mandate allowing a US presence in Iraq expires. The Pentagon has played down the suggestion of a withdrawal timetable. But correspondents say Iraqi MPs would be more likely to back Mr Maliki if the deal includes such a timetable.This is as big an issue in the upcoming Iraqi elections as it is in the USA as most Iraqis, like most Americans, want the occupation to end.There is a clear choice in the upcoming US elections between John "100 years in Iraq" McCain and Barack Obama's sane and much needed 16 month plan for... [read full story]