IF TRUE, THIS SEEMS PRETTY BAD:

WHILE campaigning in public for a speedy withdrawal of US troops from Iraq, Sen. Barack Obama has tried in private to persuade Iraqi leaders to delay an agreement on a draw-down of the American military presence.

According to Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari, Obama made his demand for delay a key theme of his discussions with Iraqi leaders in Baghdad in July.

“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.

Of course, reports like this should be taken with a grain of salt unless there’s further confirmation. On the upside, perhaps Obama’s delay efforts weren’t motivated by a desire to keep the issue alive until the election, but by a belief that a too-hasty withdrawal would be bad for America. That would represent a praiseworthy shift in position.

UPDATE: Seems doubtful that this report is true, though.