They Have the Tape, Maliki Endorsed the Obama Withdrawal Proposal

The New York Times reviewed der Speigel's tape of the Maliki interview, and has pronounced the original statement endorsing Obama's plan as accurate:

But the interpreter for the interview works for Mr. Maliki’s office, not the magazine. And in an audio recording of Mr. Maliki’s interview that Der Spiegel provided to The New York Times, Mr. Maliki seemed to state a clear affinity for Mr. Obama’s position, bringing it up on his own in an answer to a general question on troop presence.

(emphasis mine)

What's more, we now have a statement from Ali al-Dabbagh, the Iraqi government spokesman who walked back the statement under pressure from Bush and His Evil Minions^™, that having all troops out in 2010 would be a good thing, so they just endorsed Barack Obama's position again.