Iraq deal may subvert Obama, McCain plans

Associated Press

July 19, 2008

WASHINGTON - A new U.S.-Iraqi agreement raising the possibility of a withdrawal timeline threatens to complicate the war policies of presidential candidates Barack Obama and John McCain.

It bolsters Obama's call for a quick exit but could also undercut one of the Democrat's signature issues - opposition to the war - as he prepares for a high-stakes trip to the region. It leaves McCain caught between his objections to any timetable and the evolving wishes of the Republican president he hopes to succeed.

Iraq has been replaced by the sputtering economy as issue No. 1 for U.S. voters, but the war remains a pivotal campaign issue, though violence there has declined.

Less than four months before the election, it's uncertain whether apparent steps toward the war's conclusion will dilute the political power of Iraq in the campaign. McCain sought to keep it on the front-burner by unleashing a new TV ad highly critical of his Democratic rival.

The ad says Obama hasn't been to Iraq in years and voted against war funding to win the nomination, but "now Obama is changing to help himself become president." McCain, it says, has always supported the Iraq strategy "that's working."

Of the accord, McCain said it vindicated his long-standing call for more troops but was careful to suggest it left the timing of withdrawal indefinite.

Iraq long has been a major difference between the two candidates.

The line between the two could blur now that Bush and Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki have agreed to add force reduction language to a broader security agreement to keep U.S. troops in Iraq after a U.N. mandate expires Dec. 31. The accord would include "a general time horizon" for meeting goals like "the resumption of Iraqi security control in their cities and provinces and the further reduction of U.S. combat forces from Iraq."