Iraqis Say Whoever Wins the US Presidential Elections, Iraqis Lose
What do the Iraqi people think about Barack Obama and John McCain? According to an IPS News article, "whoever wins, Iraqis lose."
" "The U.S administration has committed a big mistake in Iraq,' Adil Ibrahim, a local physician in Baquba, capital city of Diyala province, located 40 km northeast of Bagdhdad, told IPS. ' We hope that whoever wins the election, the new administration can mend the huge mistakes of this one.'
"Some wish for Barack Obama to win because he claims to represent a great change in the history of the United States.
" 'Being a black man, he definitely carries different thoughts about the world,' Ali Hussein, a city employee, told IPS. 'We sympathise with him since he has some kind of Muslim origins. He may view Arabs in a new and different way.'
"Adding to this view, Naser Mahdi, a secondary school teacher, told IPS, 'I feel he is totally different. The world needs new blood in rulers, and we hope that he might decrease the dominating authority of the United States.'
"But Abdulla Hamid, a city resident, expressed deep concern over Obama's recent speech at the influential American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), the pro-Israel lobby in the U.S.
" 'What hope is there in a man who wears the Israeli flag and calls for a Jewish state with a unified Jerusalem,' Hamid told IPS. 'Obama clearly couldn't care less about the Palestinians and the Arabs.'
"Like most U.S. citizens, most Iraqis are not familiar with U.S. foreign policy. While Obama, the Democratic presidential hopeful, calls for a shift in the U.S. policy in Iraq, neither he nor his Republican rival, John McCain, talk about changing the National Security Strategy of the U.S., or the military document Joint Vision 2020, which calls for "full spectrum dominance" of the world by the U.S. military by the year 2020.
'Full spectrum dominance' means not just total control of land, air, and sea, but also of information and of space.
" 'The U.S. strategy is firm and unchanging,' a political analyst at Diyala University told IPS on condition of anonymity, given widespread fear of U.S. forces. 'It makes no difference whether one wins or the other. The general strategy is well established, and is never affected by the changing of the president.'
" 'I do agree with this point of view,' local merchant Abdul-Rahman told IPS. 'During the nineties we wished that Bill Clinton would win in order to stop the economic sanctions that caused us so much suffering. When Clinton became president, sanctions remained as they were, and even worsened.'
"At that time, the majority of Iraqis had wished for Clinton to be president, but year after year of sanctions left them embittered."
What a sad commentary on the Democratic Party and Obama. The majority of Americans and Iraqis who want US troops to come/go home, will be quite disappointed. They will need to keep up the pressure on Obama and hold his feet to the fire.
" "The U.S administration has committed a big mistake in Iraq,' Adil Ibrahim, a local physician in Baquba, capital city of Diyala province, located 40 km northeast of Bagdhdad, told IPS. ' We hope that whoever wins the election, the new administration can mend the huge mistakes of this one.'
"Some wish for Barack Obama to win because he claims to represent a great change in the history of the United States.
" 'Being a black man, he definitely carries different thoughts about the world,' Ali Hussein, a city employee, told IPS. 'We sympathise with him since he has some kind of Muslim origins. He may view Arabs in a new and different way.'
"Adding to this view, Naser Mahdi, a secondary school teacher, told IPS, 'I feel he is totally different. The world needs new blood in rulers, and we hope that he might decrease the dominating authority of the United States.'
"But Abdulla Hamid, a city resident, expressed deep concern over Obama's recent speech at the influential American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), the pro-Israel lobby in the U.S.
" 'What hope is there in a man who wears the Israeli flag and calls for a Jewish state with a unified Jerusalem,' Hamid told IPS. 'Obama clearly couldn't care less about the Palestinians and the Arabs.'
"Like most U.S. citizens, most Iraqis are not familiar with U.S. foreign policy. While Obama, the Democratic presidential hopeful, calls for a shift in the U.S. policy in Iraq, neither he nor his Republican rival, John McCain, talk about changing the National Security Strategy of the U.S., or the military document Joint Vision 2020, which calls for "full spectrum dominance" of the world by the U.S. military by the year 2020.
'Full spectrum dominance' means not just total control of land, air, and sea, but also of information and of space.
" 'The U.S. strategy is firm and unchanging,' a political analyst at Diyala University told IPS on condition of anonymity, given widespread fear of U.S. forces. 'It makes no difference whether one wins or the other. The general strategy is well established, and is never affected by the changing of the president.'
" 'I do agree with this point of view,' local merchant Abdul-Rahman told IPS. 'During the nineties we wished that Bill Clinton would win in order to stop the economic sanctions that caused us so much suffering. When Clinton became president, sanctions remained as they were, and even worsened.'
"At that time, the majority of Iraqis had wished for Clinton to be president, but year after year of sanctions left them embittered."
What a sad commentary on the Democratic Party and Obama. The majority of Americans and Iraqis who want US troops to come/go home, will be quite disappointed. They will need to keep up the pressure on Obama and hold his feet to the fire.
Comments