Nouri al Maliki's interview with Der Spiegel is making headlines:

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. US 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.

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.

Interestingly, no one seems to have noticed that Maliki gave a similar endorsement to Obama's policy in April:

I believe the American forces can draw down. I don't believe the decision for a drawdown should be paused as long as Iraqi security forces -- based on the first agreement the more Iraqi forces move forward, the more U.S. forces move back until all security responsibilities are handed over and coalition forces remain in a support role. And in a support role, you don't need such a big number.

Of course McCain and Bush are furiously spinning Maliki's remarks into an endorsement of their stay-forever policy. Better yet, McCain is claiming it as brand new evidence of "mission accomplished"!

"I am happy to stand in front of you to tell you that this strategy has succeeded. It has succeeded. It has succeeded."

"I repeat my statement that we have succeeded in Iraq - not we are succeeding - we have succeeded in Iraq."

Steve Benen asks the obvious follow up:

Can we get out of Iraq, then? Apparently not: "The success that we have achieved is still fragile and could be reversed."

I have to say, I thought "success" was going to look a little more successful, but maybe that's just me.

McCain, like Bush, considers this "mission accomplished." I guess neither want to be taken especially seriously.

Nope.