President change doesn’t mean policy change in U.S. – analysts

IRAQ / IraqiNews.com: Iraqi political analysts asserted that the U.S. policy does not change with a new president, taking into account that the United States is a country of institutions that draw up and enforce this policy, noting that Obama’s statements about withdrawing U.S. forces from Iraq was for “media consumption.” “The proposed security pact is part of a long-term American strategy that has nothing to do with a president who stays for one or two terms. It’s all about the U.S. national security,” aval Zakhoy, the editor-in-chief of al-Ahali newspaper, told IraqiNews.com. “Even the coming president cannot reject the agreement or pursue policies that differ from those of President Bush as far as the agreement was concerned,” he said. Zakhoy pointed out that the agreement was hammered out by several institutions like the national security department, Congress, and the White House, which are working together. Analyst Saad al-Hadithi told IraqiNews.com that what Obama has said in his election speech was more like propaganda. “He (Obama) said he would need a second term in office in order to carry out his campaign platform, which is an indication that he would not necessarily deliver on all that he said,” said Hadithi. He noted that the greatest part of this campaign was merely to score election gains, adding the United States is one of institutions that absolutely no president can be a sole political decision-maker. “There are many important issues, including the Iraqi problem and its correlation with national security,” he said. “Obama has said that he would pull out U.S. forces from Iraq after 18 months, which does not conflict much with the items of the proposed Iraq-U.S. security pact, as it provides for U.S. troop withdrawal in June 2009. “Obama also indicated that any withdrawal would be a responsible one and this means that the security repercussions that could happen in Iraq if the U.S. forces exited hastily are taken into consideration,” explained Hadithi. Saeed Abdelhadi, another analyst, said that Obama, after his visit to Iraq, clearly announced that the U.S. forces’ withdrawal is under consultations with the field commanders in Iraq. “All in all there is not much of a difference between the Republican and the Democratic theories as far as the U.S. presence in Iraq is concerned,” said Abdelhadi. He believed that the election of Obama was very appropriate for the Iraqi politicians’ orientations. “Perhaps the fall of Saddam Hussein needed Republicans while the withdrawal of U.S. forces needs Democrats,” he added. AmR (S)/SR 3