Now They Say Maliki Did Not Back Obama's Plan Interview Was Translated Incorrectly

[EV_Ares]

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki did not back the plan of Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama to withdraw U.S. troops from Iraq and his comments to a German magazine on the issue were misunderstood, the government's spokesman said on Sunday.

Ali al-Dabbagh said in a statement that Maliki's remarks to Der Spiegel were translated incorrectly.

The German magazine said on Saturday that Maliki supported Obama's proposal that U.S. troops should leave Iraq within 16 months. The interview was released on Saturday.

"U.S. presidential candidate Barack Obama talks about 16 months. That, we think, would be the right time frame for a withdrawal, with the possibility of slight changes," Der Spiegel quoted Maliki as saying.

Dabbagh said statements by Maliki or any other member of the government should not be seen as support for any U.S. presidential candidate.

Rest of the Article @ Link: http://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSN1932883920080720

[BeyondGeography]

1. Next up., Karzai will say his words were mis-recorded when he agreed with Obama

that Afghanistan isn't getting the attention it needs.

Too late, the damage is done.

[annabanana]

2. We knew that they couldn't let that stand, right?

There was no way it wouldn't be re-spun on behalf of the BFEE. I think that poor old spider has been through the merry-go-round once too often now. I would be surprised if anyone buys it despite the media's best effort..

[EV_Ares]

4. Right, I almost posted yesterday when I posted the first one about him backing Barack's plan, just

wait until tomorrow, they will contradict it and say it was wrong, he didn't say that. I remember one other time there was a change and it was a German news or mag article and they claimed it was misinterpreted. Germans are good translators and don't screw up that much.

[lisa58]

3. The article doesn't say what the translation "should" have been...

...I don't believe this is anything but an angry phone call from Bush.

[Life Long Dem]

7. The wrong wording was said by the journalist.

And they pointed out that Maliki's comment was not meant to be supportive of Obama's time frame. But it was.

[southern_belle]

5. Yea, right!

:rofl:

[Hope And Change]

6. It`s not a secret that Maliki wants a timetable for a withdrawal of American troops...

<snip>

Iraq raises idea of timetable for US withdrawal

By QASSIM ABDUL-ZAHRA and SEBASTIAN ABBOT, Associated Press Writers
Mon Jul 7, 3:11 PM ET

BAGHDAD - Iraq's prime minister said Monday his country wants some type of timetable for a withdrawal of American troops included in the deal the two countries are negotiating.

It was the first time that Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has explicitly and publicly called for a withdrawal timetable — an idea opposed by President Bush.

He offered no details. But his national security adviser, Mouwaffak al-Rubaie, told The Associated Press that the government is proposing a timetable conditioned on the ability of Iraqi forces to provide security.

In Washington, the State Department declined to comment on the ongoing negotiations and said officials in Washington were not yet entirely sure what al-Maliki had said.

"This falls in the category of ongoing negotiations, and I'm not going to talk about every single development, every single development in the negotiations," spokesman Sean McCormack told reporters.

Al-Maliki said in a meeting with Arab diplomats in Abu Dhabi that his country also has proposed a short-term interim memorandum of agreement rather than the more formal status of forces agreement the two sides have been negotiating.

The memorandum "now on the table" includes a formula for the withdrawal of U.S. troops, he said.

"The goal is to end the presence (of foreign troops)," al-Maliki said.

Some type of agreement is needed to keep U.S. troops in Iraq after a U.N. mandate expires at year's end. But many Iraqi lawmakers had criticized the government's attempt to negotiate a formal status of forces agreement, worried that U.S. demands would threaten the country's sovereignty.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080707/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq

<snip>

[npincus]

8. PM Maliki got a 3AM call from the WH

an angry chimp screeching on the phone...

[WinkyDink]

9. How many times have we heard how "difficult" it is to translate from the Arabic? Poppycock.

[monkeybiz]

10. I don't speak Arabic, therefore I can't comment

It would be dishonest for me to either deny or confirm whether his words were mistranslated or not.
I speak Spanish. If his original words had been said in Spanish, I would be able to analyze the whole situation.

[annabanana]

11. Please post a copy of the original Arabic, I'm sure someone

knows how to translate properly.

[Ichingcarpenter]

13. Der Spiegel responds to CentCom and stands by the story

http://www.spiegel.de/politik/ausland/0,1518,566888,00.html
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x3648605

[Enrique]

12. they're just trying to muddy the waters

just casting whatever doubt they can on this devastating story.

[Occam Bandage]

14. But did not provide the "correct" translation, you'll notice.