by Katie Fretland and updated

The Iraqi government has distanced itself from an interview published in a German magazine which stated Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's support of Sen. Barack Obama's 16-month timetable for the withdrawal of combat troops from Iraq.

Baghdad government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh said in a statement that the publication, Der Spiegel, had "misunderstood and mistranslated" Maliki. Al-Dabbagh said the prime minister's comments "should not be understood as support to any U.S presidential candidates."

The publication said in an article on its website that it stands by its interview.

Der Spiegel published an interview quoting the prime minister as saying, "U.S presidential candidate Barack Obama is right when he talks about 16 months. Assuming that positive developments continue, this is about the same time period that corresponds to our wishes."

The White House accidentally sent an e-mail to its extensive distribution list with a Reuters article about the Maliki interview.

The Washington Post's The Trail blog reports the Iraqi government statement came after a call from U.S. government officials in Iraq.

by Mike Dorning

Barack Obama said this morning that he "never" doubts his own readiness to lead the nation in international affairs from the first day in office if elected.

Obama gave the one-word answer when asked by CBS correspondent Lara Logan in an interview from Afghanistan aired this morning on the CBS News show Face the Nation.

The Illinois senator also said his high profile trip to the war zones of Afghanistan and Iraq and to foreign capitals in the Middle East and Europe was not designed to allay doubts about his preparedness to be commander-in-chief.

"The people who are very experienced in foreign affairs I don't think have those doubts," Obama said. "The troops that I've been meeting with over the last several days, they don't seem to have those doubts."

Obama confidently cast his trip, which will include meetings with government leaders in Israel, Jordan and Western European allies, as a chance for "substantive discussions" with foreign counterparts "who I expect to be dealing with over the next 8 to 10 years."

He said his efforts to reach out to foreign leaders while still a presidential candidate reflected his goal of shifting U.S. foreign policy away from the "unilateral" approach of the Bush Administration to one based on "partnership" with foreign allies.

"It's important that I have a relationship with them early, that I start listening to them now, getting a sense of what their interests and concerns are," he said, "because one of the shifts in foreign policy that I want to execute as president is giving the world a clear message that America intends to continue to show leadership but our style of leadership is going to be less unilateral, that we're going see our role as building partnerships around the world that are of mutual interest to the parties involved and I think this gives me a head start in that process."

Obama, who declared conditions in Afghanistan "precarious and urgent," also urged the Defense Department to prepare plans for a two-brigade increase in U.S. troop strength there that he has advocated.

"I think what it's important for us to do is begin planning for those brigades now," Obama said. "If we wait until the next Administration, it could be a year before we get those additional troops on the ground here in Afghanistan. And I think that would be a mistake."

Obama belittled U.S. and Pakistani efforts to counter Al Qaeda-linked training camps in tribal regions of Pakistan near the border with Afghanistan as "the occasional shot fired" and said he would press Pakistan harder to take action against the training camps.

"I think that in order for us to be successful it's not going to be about just to engage in the occasional shot fired. We've got training camps that are growing and multiplying," Obama said.

"I will push Pakistan very hard to make sure that we go after those training camps. I think it's absolutely vital to the security interests both of the United States and Parkistan," he added.

by Jim Tankersley

Like Cubs or White Sox fans booking their World Series seats at the All-Star Break, Illinois residents are snapping up tickets to celebrate Barack Obama's potential inauguration in Washington next year.

Never mind that native-son Obama is running barely ahead or statistically tied with Republican John McCain in recent polls. The Illinois State Society of Washington, D.C., reports that corporate and individual interest in its traditional, bi-partisan inaugural gala is "running far ahead of previous years" some six months before the next president takes office.

The Society has held inaugural celebrations dating back to 1861, when another local boy, Abraham Lincoln, entered the White House. In recent decades, the Society reports, its parties have been second only to Texas (where, to be fair, everything is bigger) among state-society festivities in D.C.

This year, the Illinois folks opened ticket sales early, anticipating an Obama-inspired surge. Read on for the full details from the press release. No word on whether tickets are refundable - or transferable to the Arizona state gala - if McCain wins.

by Bay Fang

There was much talk surrounding the State Department's third-ranking diplomat, Bill Burns, attending nuclear talks with Iran Saturday in Geneva. But what, in the end, did all the speculation lead to? Not much, it seems.

State Department spokesman Sean McCormack described the interaction thusly: "When his turn to speak arose, Ambassador Burns delivered a clear simple message: the United States is serious in its support for the package Mr. Solana conveyed in Tehran last month, the United States is serious in its support of P5+1 unity, and the United States with its P5+1 partners are serious that Iran must suspend uranium enrichment to have negotiations involving the United States... Ambassador Burns did not meet or speak with separately any member of the Iranian delegation."

In other words, despite the presence of the Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs, nothing new was really said on either side. The six hour talks yesterday ended in stalemate, when Iran's top nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili said Iran would still not discuss freezing its uranium enrichment activities, which western countries fear are aimed at producing a nuclear bomb but Iran insists are for energy needs.

by Jill Zuckman

As Sen. Barack Obama touches down in Afghanistan and later in Iraq, his campaign is already gloating that he has repeatedly made the right call while Sen. John McCain has not.

"First, on the biggest foreign policy questions of the last eight years, Barack Obama has made the right judgment and John McCain has sided with George Bush in making the wrong one," said a memo from the Obama campaign. "Second, the failure of the McCain-Bush foreign policy has forced John McCain to change his position, and to embrace the very same Obama approaches that he once attacked."

The memo said that McCain has been forced by events to come over to Obama's side on putting more U.S. troops in Afghanistan and in negotiating directly with Iran.

"The next shift appears to be Iraq. For months, Senator McCain has called any plan to redeploy our troops from Iraq "surrender" - even though we'd be leaving Iraq to a sovereign Iraqi government," the memo said. "Now, the Bush Administration is embracing the negotiation of troop withdrawals with the Iraqi government - a position that Senator Obama called for last September, and reiterated on Monday in the New York Times. And now, Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki supports Barack Obama's timeline, telling Der Speigel that, "Barack Obama is right when he talks about 16 months."

The McCain campaign, however, begs to differ, noting that it was McCain who stood up and protested a bad strategy, allowing the situation to improve.

Let's be clear, the only reason that the conversation about reducing troop levels in Iraq is happening is because John McCain challenged the failed Rumsfield-strategy in Iraq and argued for the surge strategy that is responsible for the successes we've achieved and which Barack Obama opposed," said McCain spokesman Tucker Bounds. "Unlike Barack Obama, John McCain has never ignored the facts on the ground in Iraq, he's never avoided the warzone before proposing new strategy, and he's never voted against funding our troops in the field. If John McCain was following Barack Obama's lead on foreign policy, the United States would have already withdrawn from Iraq in a humiliating defeat at the hands of al Qaeda."

To read the entire Obama memo, click on the jump.

by Kim Barker and John McCormick

KABUL, Afghanistan - Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama arrived Saturday in this war-torn country seen as crucial to his foreign policy, in an attempt to shore up his presidential credentials on the world stage and show how important Afghanistan is to the future of the war on terror.

But Obama was almost invisible to most Afghans, despite accusing Afghan President Hamid Karzai and his government recently of spending too much time in a bunker and not enough on development.

Security for the two-day visit of the congressional delegation in Afghanistan was so tight, all of Obama's plans were kept secret. He was described as having met with only one Afghan official - the governor of an eastern province - and U.S. officials and troops.

Most Afghans did not even know he was in the country. U.S. officials would not acknowledge it publicly or that Obama planned to move onto Iraq as soon as Sunday afternoon. Obama's campaign verified that he arrived in Kabul just before noon.

"I want to, obviously, talk to the commanders and get a sense, both in Afghanistan and in Baghdad of ... their biggest concerns," the Illinois senator said before leaving the U.S. "I want to thank our troops for the heroic work that they've been doing."

Enroute to Afghanistan, the delegation briefly visited troops in Kuwait. But the Afghanistan leg is the first lengthy stop of a much-hyped international journey designed to make Obama seem more presidential. The trip also aims to counter critics who say Obama has little foreign-policy experience compared to his Republican opponent, John McCain, a Vietnam War hero with an extensive foreign background.

The congressional delegation, paid for by taxpayers, is also expected to visit Iraq and meet with Iraqi leader Nouri al-Maliki. Separately, in a campaign-funded trip, Obama plans to visit Europe and the Middle East.

by James Oliphant

Monday marks a day the Pentagon has been aiming for for years: The first full-blown war crimes trial of an accused terrorist before its specially created military commission.

The defendant is Salim Ahmed Hamdan, 37, who served as Osama bin Laden's driver in Afghanistan. He's charged with conspiracy and supporting terrorism. If convicted, he faces life in prison.

by Frank James

Oops. Here's something from the when-it-rains-it-pours department... Or maybe it's the adding-insult-to-injury department. Anyway, it's courtesy of ABC News's Political Punch blog:

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."

Sen. Barack Obama is seen being photographed during a meeting with Gul Agha Shirzai, the governor of Nangarhar province, center rear, and US military personnel in Jalalabad east of Kabul, Afghanistan on Saturday, July 19, 2008. Obama started a campaign-season tour of combat zones and foreign capitals, visiting with U.S. forces in Kuwait and then Afghanistan, the scene of a war he says deserves more attention and more troops. (AP Photo)

(Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki. AP photo: Khalid Mohammed)

by Frank James

Who could blame President Bush or Sen. John McCain for privately fuming right about now since Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki has just delivered a big gift with a bow on top to Sen. Barack Obama by embracing his 16-months timetable for withdrawing U.S. combat troops from Iraq.

Maliki said as much in an interview with the German magazine Der Spiegel. Here is the relevant excerpt:

SPIEGEL: Would you hazard a prediction as to when most of the US troops will finally leave Iraq?

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.

By Kim Barker and John McCormick

Tribune correspondents

KABUL, Afghanistan - Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama arrived Saturday in this war-torn country seen as crucial to his foreign policy, but most Afghans did not notice.

Security for the two-day visit of the congressional delegation was so tight, all of Obama's plans were kept secret. On Saturday, he met with U.S. officials at Bagram Air Base and visited soldiers in eastern Afghanistan. Although many Afghans seem intrigued by the Illinois senator, few will meet him, let alone catch a glimpse.

The delegation briefly visited troops in Kuwait, but the Afghanistan leg is the first lengthy stop of a much-hyped international journey designed to make Obama seem more presidential both on the world stage and at home. The trip also aims to counter critics who say Obama has little foreign-policy experience compared to his Republican opponent, John McCain, a Vietnam War hero with an extensive foreign background.

This March 3, 2008 file photo shows Sen. John McCain with former Sen. Phil Gramm in March 2008. (Photo credit: TIMOTHY A. CLARY/AFP/Getty Images)

by Frank James

It was really only a matter of time. You can stick the word "former" in front of Phil Gramm's old title of "national co-chair" of Sen. John McCain's presidential campaign because Gramm has quit in order to give McCain's critics one less lightning rod.

Gramm, who caused an uproar after suggesting Americans were in a "mental recession" and that the U.S. was a "nation of whiners" issued his statement of retreat late Friday, the equivalent of slinking away in the dead of night.

Gramm said:

"It is clear to me that Democrats want to attack me rather than debate Senator McCain on important economic issues facing the country. That kind of distraction hurts not only Senator McCain's ability to present concrete programs to deal with the country's problems, it hurts the country. To end this distraction and get on with the real debate, I hereby step down as co-chair of the McCain campaign and join the growing number of rank-and-file McCain supporters."

Gramm, a crusty former Republican senator from Texas and erstwhile economic professor, was an adviser to the McCain campaign on economic issues. So his characterization of the economy's condition as well as the character of his compatriots was a clear problem for McCain.

Not the least of McCain's problems was that because economic issues are seen as the unofficial Republican nominee's Achilles heel (few doubt his national-security chops) Gramm, a fierce free-marketer, was suspected correctly or not of having an huge role on the McCain campaign's economic thinking. So what Gramm said received a lot of attention.

So he had to go. And, now, he's gone. At least as co-chair. Doesn't mean you can't pick up the telephone and give the candidate a few idea about getting the nation out of its mental recession.

by Mark Silva

Many people believe this will be a close election, Conan O'Brien told his late-night guest, Sen. John McCain, early this morning, and the selection of running mates will be very big.

The host of Late Night with Conan O'Brien reminded McCain, the Republican candidate for president, that he has told audiences the vice president has only two duties: Breaking tie votes in the Senate and inquiring daily about the health of the president.

"That job will be very, very important in my'' case, replied McCain, who could become the oldest president elected to a first term - he will be 72 in November and has survived melanoma.

"Maybe twice daily,'' O'Brien suggested. "How is he now?'''

by Katie Fretland

Nominees for president make promises. But do they keep them?

In the new National Journal magazine, writer Ashley Johnson studies historical promises of presidential campaigns and found that it is very likely, if history is any indication, that the candidates would stay true to their words.

However, she notes that broken promises stand out in the public's minds far more than the kept ones. For example:

"In 1992, Clinton promised "the most ethical administration" in history," Johnson writes. "His predecessor, George H.W. Bush, famously vowed "No new taxes" in the run-up to the 1988 election, and then raised taxes while in office. Going back further, Franklin D. Roosevelt reneged on his 1932 campaign pledges to maintain a balanced budget and to cut government operations by 25 percent. Herbert Hoover ran in 1928 with the slogan "Vote for prosperity" and predicted "a final triumph over poverty"; the next year, the nation plunged into the Great Depression."

The National Journal also has a searchable database of the promises McCain and Obama have stated publicly.

For example, speaking about veterans on May 26 in New Mexico McCain said, "As president, I will do everything in my power to ensure that those who serve today and those who have served in the past have access to the highest-quality health, mental health and rehabilitative care in the world."

And on Sept. 1 in Washington, Obama said, "As president, I would deploy at least two additional brigades to Afghanistan to reinforce our counterterrorism operations and support NATO's efforts against the Taliban."

Read the full article at www.nationaljournal.com.

by Paul West

To hear some of the talk, Barack Obama's overseas campaign swing is risky political business.

The idea that there's a lot at stake in his trip to Europe and the Middle East is likely to get amped over the next few days. The threat, however small, that he'll commit a horrendous gaffe is one way to hype interest in the story. It also helps justify the remarkable decision by the TV networks to send their top news anchors along for the ride.

Experienced campaign strategists hoot at all the negative chatter. They see Obama's venture as relatively low-risk endeavor--and a public relations windfall for the Democratic candidate, thanks to juiced-up television exposure.

"Nothing works more effectively in reinforcing the notion that somebody's an international leader than international travel," says Bill Carrick, a Democratic consultant in Los Angeles who is not working in the campaign. He dismisses dire predictions about the trip as "cocktail party nonsense."

For the record, here's a bit of the stuff being tossed about on both sides of the Atlantic:

European adulation for Obama will make him the continent's poodle. To voters back home, he could come off as elitist, more European than American (though, shades of Incurious George, he's apparently spent just 24 hours in Western Europe over the last ten years).

He may weaken his shaky image among those independent swing voters who live bitter lives in working-class towns. Many already regard him as a suspiciously foreign anyway and could resent the rest of the world telling them who to elect.

by John McCormick

WASHINGTON -- Sen. Barack Obama landed in war-torn Afghanistan early Saturday, his campaign confirmed, starting a weeklong effort to look presidential on the world stage while boosting his standing back home.

The stop is the first of a widely anticipated tour of South Asia, the Middle East and Europe that seeks to boost confidence in his ability to represent the nation's interests overseas amid a campaign where he is pitted against Sen. John McCain, a Vietnam War hero with extensive foreign policy experience.

"I'm looking forward to seeing what the situation on the ground is," Obama said here Thursday afternoon before departing on a trans-Atlantic flight that his campaign sought to keep secret because of security concerns.

Two reporters, one from the Chicago Tribune and one from The Associated Press, were allowed to fly with Obama from Chicago to Washington on Thursday afternoon as part of a media pool arrangement that required his departure not be reported until his campaign had confirmed he landed in Afghanistan.

"I want to, obviously, talk to the commanders and get a sense, both in Afghanistan and in Baghdad of ... their biggest concerns," the Illinois Democrat said. "I want to thank our troops for the heroic work that they've been doing."

Asked if he planned to push for more self-governance in expected meetings with Afghan President Hamid Karzai and Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, Obama stressed that he does not want to pre-empt President Bush.

"I'm more interested in listening than doing a lot of talking," he said. "And I think it is very important to recognize that I'm going over there as a U.S. senator. We have one president at a time, so it's the president's job to deliver those messages."

After flying in a small jet Thursday afternoon from Chicago's Midway Airport to Reagan National Airport, Obama traveled by motorcade to Andrews Air Force Base where he departed on a military C-40C aircraft.

Robert Gibbs, a senior communications strategist for the campaign, said he received a phone call about 2:15 a.m. Chicago time telling him that Obama had landed at the airport in Kabul, Afghanistan.

"Since leaving Washington on Thursday, Senator Obama had stopped and visited troops in Kuwait," Gibbs said in a statement.

The visit to Afgh