Oops! Iraqi PM Tells The Wrong Lie And Has To Backtrack

Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki forgot the script for a moment and spoke a bit too freely on the weekend, but his half-truth was not allowed to stand for very long, as reported by the AP's Robert H. Reid in the Seattle Times:

Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki told reporters Saturday the Iraqi army and police were capable of maintaining security when American troops leave.

"We say in full confidence that we are able, God willing, to take the responsibility completely in running the security file if the international forces withdraw at any time they want," al-Maliki said.

Those comments appeared to undercut President Bush's contention the 155,000 U.S. troops must remain because Iraqis are not capable of providing for their own security.

On Sunday, al-Maliki's adviser Yassin Majid said the prime minister meant that efforts to bolster Iraq's security forces would continue "side by side with the withdrawal."

Forgive me for asking, but ...

What withdrawal?

What security?

Recent weeks appear to have brought a decrease in dramatic car-bomb attacks, though bombings still occur nearly daily. But according to figures gathered by The Associated Press, the daily rate of bodies found dumped in Baghdad [...] has risen slightly.

In the first 14 days of July, 301 bodies were found in Baghdad, or an average of nearly 22 a day, compared with 19 a day in June, when 563 bodies were found, according to AP figures, gathered from daily reports by Iraqi police.

What the Prime Minister most likely meant, and what has been clear ever since the beginning of the "insurgency", is that the Iraqi army and police will never be capable of maintaining security unless the American troops leave.

But Nouri al-Maliki's aide was not about to say that!