Maliki: Bush Pushed For Later Withdrawal Date To Help McCain--UPDATED with Video
By Cernig Monday Sep 22, 2008 8:30pm
Think Progress reports that the Bush administration have been playing politics with Iraq withdrawal plans, pressuring Maliki to delay an agreed withdrawal date by a year because the White House was concerned that Maliki’s endorsement of a 2010 time line would damage Sen. John McCain’s (R-AZ) presidential campaign. The revelation came in an al-Iraqiya interview with Maliki last week:
MALIKI: Actually, the final date was really the end of 2010 and the period between the end of 2010 and the end of 2011 was for withdrawing the remaining troops from all of Iraq, but they [the Bush administration] asked for a change [in date] due to political circumstances related to the domestic situation [in the US] so it will not be said to the end of 2010 followed by one year for withdrawal but the end of 2011 as a final date. Agreement has been reached on this issue. They are willing to respond positively because they, too, are facing a critical situation.
UPDATE: Rachel Maddow covered the topic on her Monday show: 
Download | play 
Download | play (h/t Heather)
Matt Duss asks : "What did McCain know about this, and when did he know it?"
Maybe we could ask Iran/Contra liar and current Deputy National Security Adviser for Global Democracy Strategy, Elliot Abrams. Apparently, Abrams is regularly briefing the McCain campaign — McCain's favorite lobbyist for Georgia, Randy Scheunemann, appears to be the main contact — and has told friends and colleagues that he is confident that he will get a top post in a McCain administration.
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Bet some families with dead kids just LOVE that. Let's see . . . we want to sacrifice our 19 year old so John McCain can be president. What a nation, huh?
and how should a parent react if their child was killed in this "politically extended" warfare?
Matt Duss asks : “What did McCain know about this, and when did he know it?”
He knew the whole fuckin time. We know we've been played, but the other half won't acknowledge it. Well, not half, how about 25%
Bad enough blood for oil. How many of our soldiers, how many Iraqi citizens are going to pay with their lives so that Bush and his Republicans can shoehorn their man into the White House?
Absolutely criminal.
Sounds like The Iran-Contra Affair
Either way, to lose one of your offspring to a dishonest "war" should/would be crushing.
At Least, To anyone with half a brain.
Wow we have a "Deputy National Security Adviser for Global Democracy Strategy" wtf?
Can they just call it Deputy neo-con and save some $$ on his business cards?
I think we can all agree that it is absolutely criminal but are we just screaming in the wind?
What can we do to MAKE THEM ACCOUNTABLE?
When will I awake from this nightmare?
Die kids! Die!!
how much of this will be covered by the msm? it should be round the clock.
Orangutan. @ 5:
It is just like the Iran/contra affair and it gets to happen again because we did not rise up in righteous indignation then which only encouraged the embryo which would mature into the bush administration
I can haz 'peechment naw preeze?
Well, if the Democrats had cut the funding like they promised before they took over the House in 2006, this wouldn't have happened.
"...political circumstances related to the domestic situation..." seems pretty vague to me. Don't get me wrong--every time I believe the worst of the Bush Junta, they manage to up the ante on the definition of "worst." But I'm not sure that there's enough smoke from the gun-barrel to say that this is all about McCain. Maybe about the GOP in general, but finding McCain's fingerprints on it...that's another matter.
and people don't understand why obama's poll numbers
aren't better. personally i'm not a poll person but
obviously people are into polls.
BUSH is backing mccain as much as he can. he doesn't
want a democrat in the white house. mccain will continue
his NEOCON agenda and buffer his 'failed presidency'
from scrutiny. the timing of the 'bailout' stinks and i
don't appreciate this 'shield' that has been developed
for palin
No, this action is so Nixonian it hurts. Somehow I knew that Bush wasn't going to go away without an October surprise.
Who wants to be the last American to die in Iraq? Can I see a show of hands? What, nobody wants to be the last soldier killed in this stupid war? Let's call it wrap and leave. We can have the criminal investigations after Obama gets in.
The Very Bitter Ceci Hussein @ 16:
It's only an October surprise if people don't know about it. Hardly a surprise if you ask me. Sad but true.
Abraham Jackemoff @ 13:
yeah those record number of filibusters,threat to veto,
veto and signing statements got in the way. having a
paper thin majority didn't help.delay ongoing funding
what happens 'don't care about the troops' this
administration had the advantage by throwing the first
punch.
The Very Bitter Ceci Hussein @ 16:
Maybe the bailout saved Iran.
constituent @ 19:
Ya those poor ol' Dems hands are sooooooo tied up........why look at the latest headlines!!
WASHINGTON – Democrats have decided to allow a quarter-century ban on drilling for oil off the Atlantic and Pacific coasts to expire next week, conceding defeat in a months-long battle with the White House and Republicans
http://news.yahoo.com/story//ap/20080924/ap_on_go_co/offshore_drilling
Just terrible how their hands are soooooooo tied up.
idleuser @ 18:
For people who are political junkies, you're right. This isn't a surprise. But imagine this new not even reaching the general public who only are obsessed with Sarah Palin's clothes and glasses?
An October Surprise? I may have been a little bit too hasty. But it still conveys how dirty Bush and his cronies are to the bitter end. That's why I hope the lady in Vermont makes it to the Attorney General's office.
We have met the enemy and he is... Bush.
Paul @ 23:
You nailed it.
They're never bored when they're
killing for the lord...
The Bush crime family strikes again!
constituent @ 19:
I replied to this but it didn't appear...sucked into the internets void I guess
cernig,
thanks for pushing distribution of those lovely mccain/bush pics. i swear, those 2 oughta get a log cabin already...
off-topic, but i just wanted to thank george will for some damn brutally honest midwestern journalism the other day.
come back and take in an illini game this fall, george. the new luxury boxes are awesome.
(anyone who has ever cut across the quad on a late october saturday on the way to the game knows why our colors are orange and blue).
If this is true, then Bush should be charged with murder. This is the most outrageous thing I've heard since hearing we were now a nation that tortures its prisoners. These are our children, for heaven's sake.!!! It makes me sick.
Doc Barb @ 2:
How? Band together, pull a Founding fathers, overthrow this horrid BS that took over the U.S. Govt and we all start over.
Mc'Comb over' so he is a bit vain then...
Most/all photos of WcCain are taken from a low angle, so he appears as a demigod towering over the viewer, and hides the combover nicely too.
That tables is looking mighty empty right about now, why don't we throw some impeachment onto it.
So whatever happened to Cindy Palin....?
This is beyond believable!! George Bush has been nothing but a liar but to use our young men and young women as political instruments for an election is a new low, EVEN for Bush.
Why isn't this national news? This goes beyond disgraceful this is almost criminal and this is the first I have heard about it.
Hey, the Reagan administration cut a deal with Iran to release the hostages AFTER Ronnie was sworn in to humiliate Carter back in 1980, so it's not like the American public means shit to a Republican unless they need your vote.
MN USA @ 28:
These are not all of our children. Bush's children and Cheney's children are quite safe. Please don't worry about them -- they are in no danger.
This is truly vomit-worthy.
Well, there's your proof....THE GOP: PARTY OVER COUNTRY
Or, as McCain would imprint on a bumper sticker: JOHN McCAIN: PARTY FIRST
Scy @ 1:
At this point these soldiers should have known better than to continue to take part and adhere to such an immoral occupation. Imagine losing a leg or an arm, or brain matter for these evil, worthless war criminals? Bush and his band of psychopaths have treated these poor service people like the ultimate "bottom bitches".
Unbelievable! This is not just about playing politics, it's sacrificing American citizens simply for political gain. Republicans have no shame. They will do anything and everything to retain power. It's only because so many Americans are ignorant, gullible morons who lack the mental capacity to seek and understand the truth.
How many innocent lives were spent by this worthless political stunt? Someone please tell me why Saddam was worse than Dubya Bush? Did Saddam invade our country and kill our people as well as his? Who used the WMD on the other country. Who is the lying, drunk, who went AWOL from his military duty during National Guard stint? I know the answer and I have said it. Accept it. We are no longer the good guys.
Impeachment is back on the table. This is the last straw.
aquarius2 @ 33:
Rachel Maddow reported on it this evening - but I'm on the East Coast, so maybe it hasn't been broadcasted yet where you are.
I doubt this is the October surprise - because revealing this is not likely to help McCain.
I think it'll be something much more in keeping with Cheney's "dastardliness."
I have no lost love for Bush and think he should have been impeached years ago (f Pelosi), but I have trouble believing Maliki doesn't have other motives for making this statement, such as embarrasing Bush and hurting McCain's bid.
I have a gut feeling that the Republicans are once again making fools of all of us. About the Economy, the Bailout, about Iraq and about Palin. Take your pick. The Democrats are being yanked again. Can't we send Bush far, far away til January. So he can't do anymore damage to this country and to the poor kids serving in Iraq. IMHO Bush is the one who has caused every single one of the terrible things that has happened the last eight years. He and he alone is the one to blame. And he claims to be a Christian!
Walter Sobceck @ 43:
Yeah right. Mr. Country first.
You talk about some pointless GOP political angle, ignoring all of the death and destruction and treasure lost(that we desperately need). You're a sick fuck.
Brings back the Reagan Crime Family's delaying the release of the Iranian hostages in order to guarantee victory over Jimmy Carter.
I hate Republicans. Just hate 'em.
Bush is a fucking criminal. This is not news.
But if McCain was/is aware of the fact that they're planning on keeping American soldiers "in harm's way" for an extra god damn year so McCain has a better shot at the presidency - well, then - let the world know how bloody well they FUCKIN' SUPPORT THE TROOPS.
Somebody needs to go to PRISON for TREASON. A whole bunch of somebodies.
Aaaaaaaggghhh! that hug-buddy thing. My eyes are burning!!!
We Won't Get Fooled Again.
The lies of McCain.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i9njqqeljAo
As McInsane has always been for been in Iraq forever, should we not ask him that he pay for it.
Both Stewart and Colbert are great tonight.
Now THAT'S a big surprise.
*
I am curious as to what questions of substance such as this matter, will be asked of John McCain on debate night. I don't know why I ask; I have lost faith in the press and it gets worse everyday. When have you ever heard of a vice presidential candidate getting this pass of not answering to the press such as Palin has been given; on such an important campaign. Pathetic. If if wasn't for the internet, and bloggers; I shutter to think where America would be.
No surprise at all .
If you have friends or relatives in the military, or know anyone who has, please forward them this article.
my god. as if there were any doubt about the pure evil of these men...
how hollow they are. in every way.
Ranks right up there with the Reagan/Bush campaign's bribing Iran to hold onto the Embassy hostages until after the '80 election...risking the lives of American citizens so they can win a fucking election...God how I hate these bastards.
The cowardly, alcoholic, cocaine addicted deserter George W. Bush and the clownish old man who was arrested by the Vietnamese for bombing innocent civilians think nothing about getting more Americans and more Iraqis killed to help McCain and the Alaskan hick bimbo get elected so their pals can continue to fleece the U.S. tax payers.
Why aren't these war criminals hanging from the gallows? What is wrong with Americans?
Rachel Maddow on MSNBC addressed this very issue last night on her new program...
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/26861141#26861141
Brain washed and dumbed down, what you think this was coincidence? I think not. No Child Left Behind was done on purpose. So was the de-regulation of everything from banks to how many newspapers/tv stations one person could own. You think what you see on TV is true? heh Yeah, stop watching it for a WEEK and see how much you stop spending. Watch your pocket book, and how you eat, drink, sleep.
FOR your country STOP WATCHING TV COMMERCIALS!!!!!
Not sure about the shows, I haven't noticed any patterns, however commercials are EVIL, brainwashing was done a long time ago, and it was very bad. Think they haven't done that again? Think about it, OPEN YOUR MIND. They are using kids for political gain. They would think nothing of using the tv commercials / shows to brainwash the American populace in to complacency.
Just even MUTE the commercial. Don't listen to it. You can especially see/feel it in the McINsain commercials. I saw one to night. **shiver** It feels like a buzz in the back of your brain, and your thinking gets fuzzy and suddenly you crave a food/drink you don't have. It's annoying as hell to be reading online and the kids come in from school and turn it on. My head buzzes I get headaches and nausea just having it ON.
TURN IT OFF.
And the Kool-Aid Crew scoffed when Putin accused "someone" in the U.S. of instigating the Georgian crisis. Manipulating the Iraqis for exclusively Repuglican political gain is plausible and verifiable, but fabricating a crisis in Georgia (when your campaign advisors are noted lobbyists for Georgian independence), that goes beyond the pale?
GTFOH!
I believe the drummed-up "war" in Iraq was started not only out of greed for profiteers, but to get W and Cheney re-elected. The Afganistan war didn't last long enough, so they cooked up another one and made it last past 2004. The knew, or they told us, "Americans don't throw out a wartime president." Everything else the dumbass touched was a failure from the beginning, but he thought war - yea - I can do that.
I believe we were hit on 9/11 BECAUSE W and Cheney were put into office with an oil, war, and domination agenda. Those in the middle east have only one source of revenue - oil - and they knew it was in danger of being overtaken, so they struck first. This war was always the plan and Iran is next. No wonder Iran is always talking big and threatening to protect itself.
Obama - solar panels and electric cars - re-regulation - nationalized healthcare without middlemen - diplomacy - strength through peace and sharing.
We did this all to ourselves.
Vote for intelligence and communication style - we now know how important that is.
gouko787 @ 50:
Wanna bet. There are enough morons in the US that the possibility of a McCain win exists. Whether polls are accurate or not, the fact that Obama doesn't have almost 100% in the polls shows that there are an awful lot of dumb fucks in the US.
this is unreal! If this is true, wish I believe it is, the American people should be on the streets demonstrating that this administration resign and give us back our country. HOW STUPID HAVE WE BECOMED!
That's some good troops-supportin' there, Bushie.
I'd love to hear what Palin has to say about this. She's sending her oldest to Iraq,... how do you feel about that, mom? What would Jesus do, extend an illegal war for a cheap political gain?
DBoucher @ 63:
Not only that, they Repugs control the folks who own/program/run the voting machines.......election reform should have been at the top of our list for a long time. But, now we've got wars, energy crisis, economic crises, etc., etc. - not much chance we'll be fixing that problem any time soon.
Sadly, most Americans won't read or hear a word about this. And, if they do, many won't believe it. Too many have no sense of the political game that the Republicans are so good at.
Why? Because a lot of Americans have the pre-1960s, WWII mentality. These "patriotic" folks swallow whatever their government dishes out to them and salute. In spite of all the evidence to the contrary, in conversations I hear that Sadam Hussein's Iraq was responsible for 911, and John McCain is a maverick. When confronted with the truth, the usual responses are, "That's not what I heard (read)," or They're all crooked," or "What that man went through as a POW!" Many boomer-aged and younger Americans haven't heard of the Keating 5 scandal or Cindy McCain's theft and dependency on prescription drugs. When faced with the facts, they either don't believe it, or the response is, "Unfortunately, that's the way it's always been." It's the same reaction over multi-millionaire John Sidney McCain III in $500 shoes, with 10 homes and 18 cars, painting Obama as the uppity one. As a teacher, what I find most offensive is the idea that a highly educated person with some knowledge of the world is too "elitist" and "cosmopolitan" to be President. Just look at wherethe dumbing down of a President has taken us with Bush!
To paraphrase Pogo, we has met the enemy and he is us. We get what we deserve, and since we don't want to weigh in with more than the same kind of rhetoric we get from our Pols, we deserve this. It is not going to change while we all sit on our hands and complain. It is past time for the American people to rise up; I am not advocating violence, but rather peaceful revolution. It is time to organize, to participate, to make it uncomfortable for those in power. Call your friends, start an e-mail campaign, write your congressman, picket. In other words don't just bitch, do something. It works. And when all else fails, throw the bums out.
We can blame Bush and both houses of Congress, but the bottom line is we let this all happen, from Iraq to Wall Street, because we were fat, dumb, and happy. Well we're getting skinnier and sadder; let's hope we get smarter.
"They that can give up essential liberty (the Patriot Act) to obtain a little temporary safety (freedom from terrorism) deserve neither liberty nor safety." Ben Franklin (the parens are mine).
Excuse me, but doesn't this constitute an act of treason ?
This item should be e-mailed to every military family in the US.
I actually had a different understanding of Malaki's statement. It seems to me that he's saying that the dates won't actually change, just that the official date to use to describe the withdrawal will be the end date (2011) not the start date (2010).
I inserted the word "be" to make it read better; but I think it's just a semantic change.
BushCo is *still* using the withdrawal plan as a political tool, which is still horribly wrong, but it *may* not be actually making troops stay another year.
John Hulse @ 26:
I'm gonna use this one a lot!
How do the people with family in the military feel when they hear of this stuff? Probably finally getting it...............didn't take PATRICK TILLMAN long to get it.
Can we string them up yet?
America was founded by traitors, so I guess anyone who opposes the current government status quo is in damn good company.
illigitimus non carborundum
Doc Barb @ 8:
People can do absolutely zero, except swallow another lump of stale govt cheese, salute, snap heels, and shout "thank you sir, may I have another!" to the party master. Or hey, make a sign and walk in circles on a street corner.. expending the angry energy might be therapeutic. None of which will matter if your vote rewards either of the inept 2 parties that allow this type of insult to the founding fathers to fester.
The uber elite CFR/APAC/Bilderberg upward failing party scumbag lackeys laugh in your face every time you REWARD the 2 party DC Mafia, "as if" the Dems virtue and lefty sunshine goodness would keep them from using the same trick next time it suits them? please..
BTW thank both parties for the tsunami of financial poo the nation is facing, be sure to re-elect them as a reward.
The emotional energy you nit wits create with your hatred of George Bush would power a Democratic run city. You know the ones I'm talking about that trade turns being murder capital of the United States for a year, like Detroit, Oakland, Baltimore, Philadelphia, Atlanta, Washington D.C., New Orleans, Los Angeles and Obama's Chicago. In fact I bet most people on this page are so racist they can't name a single city successfully run by a black person. That's right they're all bankrupt, crime riddled and have huge tax burdens on the few remaining corporate entities that don't move to Asia and then there's Detroit. Go get your Barney Franks that run male brothels out of their homes and Bill Clinton SPERM donors in the Oval Office. Vote the only two lawyers running in this November's presidential race, because we need more lawyers in Washington.
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