On Saturday, Nouri al-Maliki endorsed -- unprompted and by name -- Barack Obama’s call for withdrawal from Iraq within 16 months to the German magazine Der
“„is hopeful that U.S. combat forces could be out of the country by 2010.
“„Ali al-Dabbagh made the comments following a meeting in Baghdad on Monday between Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and Democratic presidential contender , who arrived in earlier in the day.
“„The timeframe is similar to Obama’s proposal to pull back combat troops within 16 months. The Iraqi government has been trying to clarify its position on a possible troop withdrawal since al-Maliki was quoted in a German magazine last week saying he supported Obama’s timetable.