Hot Air noticed that Speigel published one version then actually changed part of the interview yesterday and today we see, via CNN, that a spokesman for al-Maliki issued a statement saying that his words were "were misunderstood, mistranslated and not conveyed accurately."
But a spokesman for al-Maliki said his remarks "were misunderstood, mistranslated and not conveyed accurately."
Government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh said the possibility of troop withdrawal was based on the continuance of security improvements, echoing statements that the White House made Friday after a meeting between al-Maliki and U.S. President Bush.
Well at least Speigel gave the far left something to do yesterday...
[Update] Bloomberg also headlines with "Maliki Doesn't Endorse Obama Troop Withdrawal Plan"
July 20 (Bloomberg) -- Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki hasn't endorsed any specific plan for the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq, a government spokesman said, a day after a magazine report that he backed Barack Obama's proposal.
Al-Maliki supports a ``general vision'' of U.S. troop withdrawal from Iraq and has not backed a plan by Obama, the presumptive U.S. Democratic presidential candidate, for a 16- month withdrawal window, government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh said in an e-mailed statement in Baghdad today.
Al-Maliki was quoted in an interview with Germany's Der Spiegel magazine published on its Web site yesterday as saying Obama's plan is ``the right timeframe for a withdrawal, with the possibility of slight changes.''
Comments al-Maliki made to the magazine were ``misunderstood and mistranslated'' and were not ``conveyed accurately,'' al- Dabbagh said in the statement.
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