Help from an unexpected source

By Jennifer J. Foster

As if Barack Obama needed any more help getting the word out about the Iraqi prime minister’s friendly comments about his position regarding the timeline for ending the War in Iraq ... someone’s looking for a new job today. From ABC’s Jake Tapper:

The White House this afternoon accidentally sent to its extensive distribution list a Reuters story headlined “Iraqi PM backs Obama troop exit plan - magazine” ...

The White House employee had intended to send the article to an internal distribution list, ABC News’ Martha Raddatz reports, but hit the wrong button.

Reminds me of this exchange from Mission: Impossible:

KITTRIDGE (CONT’D) (to Barnes) You and I know about this—and that’s where it stops.  Understand?  It never happened.

BARNES What about him…?

He gestures to the TECHNICIAN, who watches them anxiously.

KITTRIDGE I want him manning a radar tower in Alaska by the end of the day.  Just mail him his clothes.

Good news for Obama

By Jennifer J. Foster

Barack Obama’s World Tour Challenge is off to a good start. From Fox News:

Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki told a German magazine that he supports Barack Obama’s plan to withdraw U.S. troops from Iraq within 16 months of taking office.

The apparent endorsement of a cornerstone of Obama’s foreign policy drew swift praise from the Obama camp. But the White House stressed that any timelines are contingent on “security gains” in the region.

“U.S. presidential candidate Barack Obama talks about 16 months. That, we think, would be the right timeframe for a withdrawal, with the possibility of slight changes,” al-Maliki told the magazine Der Spiegel. He said he wants U.S. troops to leave “as soon as possible.”

In addition to lending credence to Obama’s foreign policy credentials, al-Maliki’s comments have the added benefit of soothing doubts about Obama among Democrats who fear he may be moderating too much on the war in light of his recent comments about “refining” his position on Iraq.