Timetable

Iraqi prime minister Nuri al-Maliki raised the prospect on Monday of setting a timetable for the withdrawal of u.s. troops as part of negotiations over a new security agreement with Washington.

(You ain't just whistling Dixie there!
They's a many of us fer setting a timetable an' sticking to it)

It was the first time the U.S.-backed Shi'ite-led government has floated the idea of a timetable for the removal of American forces from Iraq.

(Most likely it ain't the first - Just the first we've heard about)

The cabal has always opposed such a move, saying it would give militant groups an advantage.

(Whoa, big surprise there, buddy boy)