Kendatipun demikian, Maliki mengatakan bahwa meskipun dia tidak akan berada di pemerintahan, namun dia berpendapat bahwa keadaan yang menyedihkan di Irak akan membaik, ketika ditanya apakah dia berpendapat perdamaian di Irak akan terwujud semasa hidupnya.
But despite his travails, Maliki said he would not be in office, unless he thought the dire plight of Iraq could improve, and he was asked if he thought Iraq would have peace in his lifetime.