With an Eye on Security Pact, Iraqis Watch US Vote

A man selects a newspaper in Sulaimaniyah, 260 kilometers (160 miles) northeast of Baghdad, Iraq,...

A man selects a newspaper in Sulaimaniyah, 260 kilometers (160 miles) northeast of Baghdad, Iraq, Sunday, Oct, 2, 2008. Iraqis are following this week's U.S. election but the big news here is the ongoing effort to forge a new security agreement that would keep U.S. troops here for most of the new president's first term. (AP Photo/Yahya Ahmed)

(AP)

Iraqis are following this week's U.S. election, but the big news here is the effort to forge a new security agreement that would keep American troops here for most of the new president's first term.

The contest between Barack Obama and John McCain has attracted most attention in Kurdistan, the three provinces of northern Iraq where the Kurds have enjoyed self-rule since 1991.

Several Kurdish newspapers have dedicated full pages to the U.S. campaign. Most papers say they fear Obama would pay less attention to the Kurds, who have used their close ties to the U.S. to bolster their political clout in Iraq.

Elsewhere, many Iraqis appear less concerned, despite striking differences between Obama and McCain over the war.

Obama opposed the conflict from the start and promises to end it. McCain was a strong supporter of the 2003 invasion as well as the troop surge. He promises to pursue the war to victory.

But many Iraqis say they believe the new president will look at Iraq differently once the votes are in. They can't imagine a U.S. president anxious to leave a country with such oil wealth and strategic position in the Middle East.

Haider Abdul-Muhsin, a 35-year-old Shiite bus driver in Baghdad, said he's seen American presidents come and go but "we saw no difference in their dealings with Iraq."

"I don't care who wins the U.S. elections because it is the institutions, not individuals, that decide U.S. long-term policies," he said.

Outside of Kurdistan, that seeming indifference has been reflected in newspaper and broadcast coverage.

"Our coverage of the U.S. election is not heavy because we believe that the result of the elections will not have a direct impact on the future of Iraq," said Ahmed Abdul-Majid, chief editor of Azzaman, a major Baghdad newspaper.

"There is no difference between McCain and, Obama because both of them will follow the strategic policies drawn up by decision-making circles," he said.