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| Monday, 26 April 2004 |
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Bush, Kerry show new differences over Iraq WASHINGTON, Sunday (AFP) As Iraq looms larger on the radar screens of US voters, new differences are emerging between President George W. Bush and his Democratic challenger John Kerry on an exit strategy to end the year-old occupation. Both men vow to "stay the course" despite renewed fierce fighting in Iraq. Both support the dispatch of additional troops if necessary and are counting on political help from the United Nations. But subtle and not-so-subtle differences between the Republican president and his rival have surfaced in recent days as the United States scrambles to meet a June 30 deadline for restoring Iraqi self-rule. Whereas Bush insists on a "democratic" Iraq, Kerry would settle for a "stable" Iraq. If Bush has given full rein to a UN envoy to work out transitional arrangements, the Democrat wants to involve European and Arab states as well. Kerry has also stuck by his criticism of Bush for failing to bring in more foreign troops and make Iraq a NATO operation, even if the alliance and its members have shown little enthusiasm for such a prospect. Although foreign policy questions rarely have a major impact on US presidential campaigns, Iraq has moved up on the voters' agenda as the US death toll mounted with more than 100 soldiers killed this month alone. Americans now put Iraq and terrorism up there with the economy as major concerns. A Washington Post-ABC News poll last week showed 23 percent thought Iraq was the single most important issue, up from 10 percent in March. But if Bush has seen support for his handling of the war plummet in recent months, with most Americans scpetical whether he has a clear plan to get out, he still enjoys a healthy edge over Kerry on the question. The Washington Post-ABC News poll showed Bush preferred over Kerry 52-41 percent when it comes to tackling Iraq, a sharp reversal from six weeks earlier when the Massachusetts senator was on top by a single point. With the continued occupation of Iraq turning out to be an emotional and volatile issue, the candidates have both been moving to the center. Kerry, who voted to authorise last year's invasion before opposing it, now matches criticism of the White House with pledges to support US troops. Bush has embraced a key role for the United Nations which he previously shunned. "There's not a ton of detail at the level of tactics and programmatic differences," said Michael O'Hanlon, foreign policy analyst at the Brookings Institution. Some analysts suggest Kerry might have to take a more dovish line on Iraq if independent Ralph Nader, who fashions himself a "peace" candidate, starts drawing support on the issue. For now Kerry, a Vietnam war hero branded by the White House as waffling and weak on defense, appears to be working to stake out modest new ground on Iraq. Asked in a television interview last Sunday whether he would accept putting the country under a Shiite theocracy similar to the regime in Iran, Kerry said, "what is critical is a stable Iraq." "It doesn't have to be, at least in the early days, the kind of democracy this administration has talked about, though that's our goal, and we should remain there." Bush stood by his call for democracy. "It's necessary, it's what will help change the world," he told a convention of newspaper editors. "You either believe people can self-govern or not; believe democracy is possible in that part of the world, and I think it is." The president has given full support to UN envoy Lakhdar Brahimi to come up with a transitional government for Iraq by June 30. He waved off questions at an April 16 news conference on who would be Iraq's new rulers, saying "that's going to be decided by Mr. Brahimi." Kerry, who has called for the United Nations to supervise Iraq's political and economic rehabilitation, said Friday it was not enough to use Brahimi as a "back door" for negotiations and other countries should be included. He said neither Arab nor European states had an interest in seeing a failed Iraq festering at their doorstep, but "notwithstanding those interests, none of them are at the table with this administration." |
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