Former President Bill Clinton had some strong words to say about American involvement in Iraq during a speech delivered today in the Middle East. The Associated Press has the story.

Former President Clinton told Arab students Wednesday the United States made a "big mistake" when it invaded Iraq, stoking the partisan debate back home over the war.

Clinton cited the lack of planning for what would happen after Saddam Hussein was overthrown.

"Saddam is gone. It's a good thing, but I don't agree with what was done," Clinton told students at a forum at the American University of Dubai.

"It was a big mistake. The American government made several errors ... one of which is how easy it would be to get rid of Saddam and how hard it would be to unite the country."

While this statement is certainly meaningful in and of itself, it should not be viewed outside of the context of Hillary Clinton's (assumed) bid for the 2008 Democratic presidential nomination.

For many Democrats, Hillary Clinton's longstanding vocal support for the Iraq War has been the greatest determinant of their opposition to her candidacy. On Tuesday, however, Senator Clinton broke with Iraq hawks from both parties by voting in favor of Carl Levin's amendment, which Republicans said would have mandated a timetable for withdrawal. One day later, her husband calls the Iraq War a "big mistake."

While these actions by the Clintons might not be enough to quell the concerns of the significant portion of the Democratic Party -- and indeed the nation -- that has serious misgivings about the War in Iraq, they seem to indicate a noticeable, however slight, shift in Senator Clinton's stance towards the war. And I would not be surprised to seem more of this in the coming weeks and months.