Matt Ortega

In the Tuesday edition of the London Times, Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki “demanded” that the United States commit to a withdrawal timetable.

Iraq said for the first time yesterday that it wanted to set a timetable for the withdrawal of US troops from its territory. [...]

“The current trend is to reach an agreement on a memorandum of understanding either for the departure of the forces or to put a timetable on their withdrawal,” Mr al-Maliki said during a visit to the United Arab Emirates. He rejected efforts by Mr Bush to hurry through an agreement on vital issues such as the immunity of US troops in Iraq and use of the country’s airspace. Mr Bush had hoped to sign a Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) by the end of July to establish the basis for a long-term presence of US troops in the country.

President Bush told reporters May 2007 that if the Iraqi government asked the United States to leave the country, that the request would be heeded.

We are there at the invitation of the Iraqi government. This is a sovereign nation. Twelve million people went to the polls to approve a constitution. It’s their government’s choice. If they were to say, leave, we would leave.

Asked to comment on the demands of al-Maliki, the Defense Department said that timelines were “artificial” and the State Department questioned the accuracy of the report.

As multiple press accounts – as well as Maliki’s office — have indicated, Maliki did indeed suggest a timeline for withdrawal in negotiating a security agreement with the United States.

“I’ve got confidence in him,” Bush said in 2007 about Maliki’s leadership. But despite its rhetoric, it seems the Bush administration could care less what the Iraqi people or the Iraqi government want.

Thus is the real choice this election. Senator John McCain (R-Arizona) and President Bush are committed to a long-term American military presence in Iraq. That is their goal. Earlier this year, McCain stated his content for U.S. forces to be in Iraq “so long as there are no casualties” in the mold of our presence in Korea since 1953. (A position he flipped on once already.) Claims from Senator McCain about forces coming home by 2013 were made out of total political expediency because the “100 years” comment was killing him politically. Not to mention, an early indicator of the “magic wand public policy” cranked out of the McCain campaign.