on a more serious note, i think yglesias is right, the timetable thing isn't just a remarkable reversal of the bush administration's long held policy against setting a timetable for withdrawal, it's a major political victory for prime minister nuri al-maliki. maliki can claim to have done what none of the other factions in iraq could do: get the bush administration to agree to leave the country.
it will be interesting to see what maliki does with this commitment (assuming the agreement is finalized). it's not completely clear to me whether maliki really wants u.s. forces to leave, or if he's just bowing to political realities because that's what the overwhelming majority of iraqis want. he can still drag his feet if he wants to stretch things out.
of course, the other factor is what happens in the american presidential election. if obama becomes president and sticks to his promise to begin an immediate troop withdrawal, maliki might not be able to stretch things out anymore. but he could still claim credit for getting american troops to leave.
