FROM FRANCE re: US TROOPS -- OBAMA AIDE SAYS HE ASKED FOR IRAQ DELAY

Is this  a news story that it has yet to make it here to the US of A?  If this is, as written, it should be all over our Headlines and leading the News. And , before all the "thoughful' comments come in,  please read past the Headline, this article gives both sides.  The French reporter does mention a NY Post article, so will search that out for the reader.  I have yet to read this in a US paper or hear it on a US news broadcast myself.

(UPDATE)  A reader gives a link to a NY Post article on this:    

  http://www.nypost.com/seven/09152008/postopinion/opedcolumnists/obama_tried_to_stall_gis_iraq_withdrawal_129150.htm                         

(from the NY Post article)

LONG VIEW: Barack Obama tours Iraq with Gen. David Petraeus in July, when he sought to stall any agreement for US troop withdrawal until President Bush left office.

OBAMA AIDE SAYS HE ASKED FOR IRAQ DELAY

from: Agence France-Presse:

Obama camp hits back at Iraq double-talk claim

PUEBLO, Colorado (AFP) — Barack Obama’s White House campaign angrily denied Monday a report that he had secretly urged the Iraqis to postpone a deal to withdraw US troops until after November’s election.

In the New York Post, conservative Iranian-born columnist Amir Taheri quoted Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari as saying the Democrat made the demand when he visited Baghdad in July, while publicly demanding an early withdrawal.

“He asked why we were not prepared to delay an agreement until after the US elections and the formation of a new administration in Washington,” Zebari said in an interview, according to Taheri.

“However, as an Iraqi, I prefer to have a security agreement that regulates the activities of foreign troops, rather than keeping the matter open,” Zebari reportedly said.

                       A US soldier watches as an Iraqi policeman staffs a checkpoint in the western districts of the city of Tikrit on September 12, 2008.

The Republican campaign of John McCain seized on the report to accuse Obama of double-speak on Iraq, calling it an “egregious act of political interference by a presidential candidate seeking political advantage overseas.”

But Obama’s national security spokeswoman Wendy Morigi said Taheri’s article bore “as much resemblance to the truth as a McCain campaign commercial.”

In fact, Obama had told the Iraqis that they should not rush through a “Strategic Framework Agreement” governing the future of US forces until after President George W. Bush leaves office, she said.

In the face of resistance from Bush, the Democrat has long said that any such agreement must be reviewed by the US Congress as it would tie a future administration’s hands on Iraq.

“Barack Obama has never urged a delay in negotiations, nor has he urged a delay in immediately beginning a responsible drawdown of our combat brigades,” Morigi said…

What is very telling here is that, unlike the usual practice, this press release has not been picked up by our watchdog media stateside.

This story is only being reported by the AFP and a few Middle Eastern outlets.

Why is that?

We suspect it is because Ms. Morigin’s statement exactly confirms that yes Obama did seek to delay the negotions with Iraq:

'Obama had told the Iraqis that they should not rush through a “Strategic Framework Agreement” governing the future of US forces until after President George W. Bush leaves office', she said.

QED.