"I said what I meant and I meant what I said"
After talks with Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama on Monday, Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki reaffirmed that Iraq wants U.S. combat troops to withdraw from Iraq by the end of 2010, a few months later than Obama had proposed.
Ali Dabbagh, the prime minister's spokesman, said Maliki and Obama didn't discuss specifics during the hour-long meeting. But he said the Iraqi government would like to see all American combat troops out of the country by the end of 2010, a bit later than Obama's proposal to draw down all combat brigades within 16 months after he'd become president.
"Barak Obama showed his support to this government," Dabbagh said. "He came to listen to our views and the views of the prime minister. And the prime minister gave him his point of view about the presence of U.S. forces and . . . what we want from the forces."
"We had a very constructive discussion," Obama said upon leaving the meeting at the prime minister's private residence in Baghdad's fortified Green Zone.
The Illinois senator arrived Monday morning and began his trip to the southern port city of Basra, meeting Iraqi military leaders and their British counterparts for a "situational update," according to a British spokesman there.
Later in the day, Obama, trailed by guards and fellow lawmakers, swept into a presidential palace in the Baghdad neighborhood of Jadiriyah to meet Iraqi President Jalal Talabani. An immense mirror dominated the entrance hall, where a portrait of Saddam once glowered. "Mr. President, so nice to see you," Obama said, shaking hands with Talabani. "I hope you're well."
"Welcome," Talabani answered, before the leaders retired to a private room and reporters were shooed out.
Later Monday, Obama was to meet Gen. David Petraeus, the top American military commander in Iraq, and Ryan Crocker, the U.S. envoy, for dinner.
Throughout the day, U.S. Embassy and Iraqi officials were cagey about the senator's movements.
The U.S. Embassy originally said that Obama was in Baghdad when he was in fact in Basra. Before his meeting with Maliki, reporters were told to gather hours earlier for an important event. It turned out to be Maliki's first Cabinet meeting since the parliament approved 10 ministers Saturday. Obama arrived two hours later.
The only hint of his impending 2 p.m. arrival at the prime minister's office came about a half-hour earlier, when the prime minister's staff began rolling out a red carpet.
So far, Obama has refused to answer any questions about his trip
Accompanying him in the bipartisan congressional delegation to the war zones were Sens. Chuck Hagel, R-Neb., and Jack Reed, D-R.I., veterans who were highly critical of the Iraq war and could play a role in an Obama administration. They were joined by Mark Lippert, a foreign-policy adviser on Obama's staff and a naval reservist who returned recently from a tour of duty in Iraq.
David Satterfield, senior adviser to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and coordinator for Iraq, joined Obama during his meeting with Maliki.
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