Topic: Newsmax
A July 21 Agence France Presse article, reprinted by Newsmax, stated: "German weekly Der Spiegel said Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki backed Obama's withdrawal timetable, but Baghdad has denied the report."
In fact, as we've noted, while an Iraqi spokesman did claim that Maliki's comments were "misunderstood, mistranslated and not conveyed accurately," that came after Bush administration officials called Maliki's office to complain about Maliki's statement. The New York Times has since verified Der Spiegel's account and the pressure put on Maliki's government by the U.S. to walk back Maliki's comments. And now, the Iraqi official who "denied" Maliki's claim is backing away from that and essentially confirming Maliki's original statement.
