Iraqis unfazed by US election

2004-11-03 17:34

Baghdad, Iraq - The uncertain outcome of the US presidential election left many Iraqis unfazed on Wednesday - they don't expect American policy toward Iraq will change very much, no matter who wins.

In the streets and cafes of Baghdad, talk about President George W Bush and his challenger Senator John Kerry was rivaled by the daily turmoil in Iraq.

It was yet another day of violence here - marked by the kidnappings of a Lebanese American contractor and four Jordanian drivers, a suicide car bomber near the airport, and the assassination of a senior oil ministry official.

"Over 14 years, many presidents came to power but the American policy toward us was the same. Neither of them would please me. Both will not bring about any difference here," said Kareem Amin, a former government employee who is now unemployed.

With the polls showing Bush edging toward victory, it was still too close to declare a winner.

Iraqi leaders like deputy prime minister Barham Saleh took a more diplomatic stance, telling Al-Arabiya television station that he believes the US position in supporting Iraq through its transition will remain consistent.

"We are sure that the United States will stay with us because what is going on in Iraq reflects not only on Iraq but on the regional and international security," Saleh said. "We are facing international terrorism and we are sure that the international community will support us."

The fate of the two countries are intertwined, argued newspaper vendor Jumaa al-Quraishi.

"All Iraqis have interests in these elections. The future policy of the United States is among the concerns of the Iraqi people," he said.

Al-Quraishi said if he had a vote in the American election, he would choose the incumbent.

"Though it is up to the American people to decide, we opt for Bush more than Kerry because we already know his policy. He is the one who led the campaign to liberate Iraq... Therefore we had better pin hopes on the old policy rather than a new policy of Kerry."

Many Iraqis have expressed gratitude to the United States for getting rid of dictator Saddam Hussein's three-decade stranglehold over the country. But the resentment over the continued presence of American troops has soured many on the Bush Administration.

At a barbershop on Saadoun Street, owner Sami Abdul-Razzaq was frank: "I prefer John Kerry to win."

"We already saw the Republicans - Bush the father and Bush the son and their policy on Iraq and the Middle East. They have already said they are after a change in the Middle East. This is interference in the region's affairs. They have also interfered in the Islamic world."

- AP