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BAGHDAD, Iraq - "I don't care who is going to be
elected," says Fatima Jaddoo. Then in the next
breath she adds: "God willing, Bush will not be the
winner."
In the Hamraa Cafe in the ethnically mixed city
of Kirkuk, conversation Tuesday elicited three very
different views.
"I want Bush to win because he's a decisive leader
and he managed to rid us of Saddam Hussein's
regime..... This was the best gift from the American
people to all the ethnic groups in Iraq," said
Rebwar Saeed, 38. He's a Kurd, and Kurds are the
most pro-American group in Iraq.
The judgment of this black-clad vendor at a Baghdad
market typifies the muddled emotions of a nation
watching the U.S. election from afar. They are very
much a part of it, yet feel very much apart from it.
With Saddam Hussein's dictatorship gone, and with it
the ban on satellite dishes, Iraqis are well served
with election coverage. Al-Jazeera and Al-Arabiya,
the most widely watched satellite stations, are
giving extensive coverage. On Tuesday morning, both
stations went live with President Bush casting his
vote in Crawford, Texas, with Arabic voiceover.
But judging from random interviews, Iraqis feel that
for all the centrality of their country in the 2004
race, it isn't really about them. "The whole world
has only this subject to talk about; nobody is
worried about what is our destiny," said Ammar
Sameer, a 29-year-old businessman.
That destiny looks bleak to a nation hammered by the
war and its bloody, protracted aftermath. Bush's
promise of democracy and peace rings hollow to
people frightened to let their children out of the
house lest they be kidnapped or bombed.
Yet John Kerry is an unknown. Iraqi TV viewers are
by now familiar with the young, shaggy-haired man
who protested against the war in Vietnam. But when
it comes to Iraq, some find him not much different
from Bush.
"We are completely lost between Bush's lies and
Kerry's vague promises," says Adil Abdullah, a
27-year-old chemical engineer whose own hopes for a
better future were crushed when his fiancee fled to
neighboring Syria to escape the violence.
On the other hand, Ghazi Ibrahim Attiya, a merchant
in Ramadi, an insurgent stronghold, said he prayed
for a Kerry victory. "His strategy indicates he
might withdraw forces from Iraq," he said. "Also, he
acknowledged the losses of the American army."
"Bush is the worst president," said Attiya, 46. "He
unjustifiably killed Iraqis."
Privately, though, plenty of Iraqis admire Bush for
having finished off Saddam. They tend to like
strong, decisive figures. They are used to that
style of leadership from their fathers, tribal
chiefs and national leaders.
But they don't speak out publicly for Bush or the
Americans for fear of their lives. Instead, even
those who are glad to be rid of Saddam and share
Bush's goals for Iraq say the Americans have bungled
the operation. For many Iraqis, holed up in their
homes without adequate electricity and water or
personal safety, Bush bears the blame.
Ahmed Kadhem, a 25-year-old student, said Bush
"promised to oust the former regime and he did. But
what came next was that we reached a level where we
are desperate for the old regime. We were oppressed,
that's true. But at least we had security."
Abbas Sadiq, 53, is a Sunni - the Islamic group that
dominated when Saddam was in power. "I'd like Kerry
to get elected. Bush's policy in Iraq was a
failure," he said. "The American army has spilled a
lot of Iraqi blood. Bush supports the Zionists. I
don't want him to win."
And Matti Botrous, a Christian, said: "I don't care
who wins. The result won't change anything in Iraq.
The foreign policy of the Americans won't change."
Back in Baghdad, some think the mere fact of the
election should resonate with Iraqis, who have never
experienced a real one.
Basil al-Jamili, 65, thinks it should be an example
for Iraq's own election, planned for January.
It's "a great example for freedom and democracy," he
said, then added: "But it is almost the same for us
- Bush and Kerry."
(Copyright 2004 by The Associated Press. All Rights
Reserved.)
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