And this time, just so there’s no confusion, they say it in English.

So…is this definitive enough for all of you who’ve been doubting that Maliki meant sooner rather than later? Is the word “timetable” specific enough?
Meanwhile, Obama is talking about a timetable that specifically states we would get out by 2010, and McCain has hinted [...]

On two separate occasions, two different interpreters have taken what the Iraqi Prime Minister has said so far out of context that it basically meant the opposite?
Hmmm…
“U.S. presidential candidate Barack Obama talks about 16 months,” he said in an interview with Der Spiegel that was released Saturday.
“That, we think, would be the right time frame [...]

Okay, now we have an official statement…
“Let’s be clear, the only reason that the conversation about reducing troop levels in Iraq is happening is because John McCain challenged the failed Rumsfield-strategy in Iraq and argued for the surge strategy that is responsible for the successes we’ve achieved and which Barack Obama opposed.
Unlike Barack Obama, [...]

I just posted about the new “time horizon” that the US and Iraq have agreed to, and in that post I mentioned that Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki endorsed Obama’s 16 month timetable, calling it “closer to reality.”
Also, take note of the following statement from Maliki…
“The Americans have found it difficult to agree on a [...]

Is a time horizon a timeline? Well, not really. But a time horizon is what comes right before a timeline is set. So what the news finally represents is an acknowledgement that, at some point in the future, the US will have to leave.
From NY Times:
The agreement, announced in coordinated statements released Friday by the [...]

“I think the American people have had enough of inflexibility and stubbornness in national security policy.”
- McCain foreign policy adviser Randy Scheunemann on how Obama is like…Bush?
I guess Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Al Malki is like Bush too since he’s insisting on a timetable?
Ahh, politics…

“They refuse to press the Iraqis to make tough choices, and they label any timetable to redeploy our troops `surrender,’ even though we would be turning Iraq over to a sovereign Iraqi government — not to a terrorist enemy,”
- Barack Obama in his speech on Iraq today
Another key point from the speech…
At some point, a [...]

McCain has Lieberman…and Obama has Hagel.
From Wash Wire:
While it is standard practice for such trips—known as CODELS, or congressional delegations—to be bipartisan, in this highly charged election year it is likely to raise eyebrows that the retiring Nebraskan senator—a prominent Iraq War critic—is the Republican expected to join the Democratic Party’s presidential nominee on what [...]

In this podcast we discuss (1) the shake up in the McCain Campaign, (2) Obama’s statement on revising his Iraq strategy, (3) Obama and his history with low income housing subsidies for private developers and (4) rumors about McCain’s VP announcement timetable…
[Listen Online] or [Download]
[Subscribe to 2008Central.net's Presidential Election Podcast]
Feel free to email us questions/suggestions [...]

In a Rose Garden news conference today, President Bush said he hopes to be able to shift troops from Iraq to Afghanistan by the end of this year. While there’s nowhere near a guarantee that Iraq will be stable enough for this kind of redeployment, the move would likely cause some tension amongst Democrats running [...]

McCain - 49%
Obama - 40%
This after he was leading by 20% in April.
Once again, McCain wins men handily, but Obama is doing better than expected among women…
McCain leads by twenty-seven points among men but trails by six among women.
The Arizona Senator is supported by 81% of Republicans and enjoys a twelve point lead among [...]

“It’s the state of America now that is the most gripping source of anxiety for Americans, not Al Qaeda or Iraq. Anyone who thinks they are going to win this election playing the Iraq or the terrorism card — one way or another — is, in my view, seriously deluded. Things have changed.”
- Thomas Friedman, [...]

As hinted at yesterday, it’s happening and this decision will no doubt have far reaching consequences…
The announcement came after North Korea handed over a long-awaited accounting of its nuclear work to Chinese officials on Thursday, fulfilling a key step in the denuclearization process.
Bush called the declaration a positive step along a long road to get [...]

Some surprising data here, but what’s not surprising is that the economy is at the very top of the priority list. And that has to be good news for Obama since he has such a wide lead.
Energy, Gas Prices - extremely important to 51%
Obama - 47%
McCain - 28%
Economy - extremely important to 49%
Obama - 48%
McCain [...]

Maybe…
From NY Times:
Mr. Obama, who spoke to the Iraqi foreign minister [Hoshyar Zebari] by telephone this morning, said he was “encouraged” by the reductions in violence in Iraq. But he said the United States still must begin gradually withdrawing troops, at a pace of one to two brigades a month, with a goal of [...]

And considering we have about 26,000 troops in Afghanistan, the overall percentage proves that Afghanistan has been a much, much deadlier place for quite some time.
Not surprisingly, I found this news in a story about an attack by the Taliban that freed hundreds of inmates from an Afghan prison:
KANDAHAR, Afghanistan - U.S. and NATO troops [...]

I’m sure many in the Bush administration are probably remembering that old saying, “Be careful what you wish for, lest it come true.” Because while we freed the Iraqis from Saddam’s control and helped them get elections going, guess what they’re doing with this newfound influence?
From Washington Post:
BAGHDAD, June 13 — The Bush administration’s Iraq [...]

I think yes. McCain thinks no.
First, his side…

Now, mine…
Once again it appears that McCain is trying to reframe the goal of the surge by saying it’s a success because fewer troops are getting killed. And while he’s correct that casualty rates are dropping, our men and women are still dying at an average of 1 [...]

How did the BBC find out what happened to untold billions in Iraq, but we somehow haven’t yet?

I’ll be checking this out later tonight, so I’ll have more thoughts then.