Obama, Maliki Want US Troops Out of Iraq by 2010

Barack Obama spent nearly an hour today meeting with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, the Washington Post reports, before meeting with President Jalal Talabani. Though the Democrat gave few details—“We had a very constructive discussion,” was all Obama would say—an Iraqi official said the government shares Obama’s goal of withdrawing troops by 2010, without setting specific dates.

"We are hoping that in 2010 that combat troops will withdraw from Iraq," Iraq's government spokesman, Ali al-Dabbagh told reporters, adding that any withdrawal plan was subject to change if the level of violence surges.   (More Obama 2008 stories.)