In an interview published on Friday in Germany, Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki said he supports Obama's 16-month withdrawal plan.

SPIEGEL: Would you hazard a prediction as to when most of the US troops will finally leave Iraq? Maliki: As soon as possible, as far as we're concerned. 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. SPIEGEL: Is this an endorsement for the US presidential election in November? Does Obama, who has no military background, ultimately have a better understanding of Iraq than war hero John McCain? Maliki: Those who operate on the premise of short time periods in Iraq today are being more realistic. Artificially prolonging the tenure of US troops in Iraq would cause problems. Of course, this is by no means an election endorsement. Who they choose as their president is the Americans' business. But it's the business of Iraqis to say what they want. And that's where the people and the government are in general agreement: The tenure of the coalition troops in Iraq should be limited.

As if that didn't hurt the Republican nominee enough, the White House accidentally sent out a mass email to the U.S. media informing them of Maliki's comments.

Obviously, McCain continued to bash Obama, who is currently visiting Iraq and Afganistan, amongst other nations. Meanwhile, the White House did some heavy arm twisting of Maliki, who didn't so much retract his statements as he did say that his words were not an endorsement of Obama....yet........