Iraq Press Roundup

Priorities of President Obama

U.S. President-elect Barack Obama used the war in Iraq as an effective campaign tool, leading to his victory in the elections. As soon as the elections were over, however, there is little reference to Iraq on the front pages of leading newspapers.

Discussions regarding the war in Iraq have disappeared from the public eye to the point that the deaths of American soldiers barely are mentioned, al-Ittihad newspaper of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan said Monday.

Marginalizing the issue of the costly war in Iraq shows that Americans were really focused on the elections, not Iraq. This pre-election conversation was accompanied by a propaganda campaign that portrayed a remarkable decrease in violence and false numbers regarding U.S. casualties.

The American people consider the war in Vietnam a national disaster, but amid financial turmoil in the United States, the war in Iraq has become a secondary issue in the public eye and for the next administration. Obama, however, needs to recognize the fact that domestic policy has spilled over to foreign policy as the price tag for the war in Iraq has reached $3 trillion.

Obama, therefore, should keep to his promise of making domestic issues his top priority by amending U.S. foreign policy and pulling U.S. combat troops out of Iraq.

Will Obama break his promises?

Barack Obama, the U.S. president-elect, during his campaign for the White House advocated a complete withdrawal of U.S. forces from Iraq in 16 months. The world is now waiting to see if he complies with his promises.

There is a great potential for Obama to back away from his promise of ending the war in Iraq now that he has won the elections, the Sunni al-Mashriq newspaper said Monday.

Analysts view Obama's choice to keep U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates in office and the appointment of Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., as his secretary of state as a sign he will likely change his policy toward the war in Iraq. With 90 percent of his Cabinet consisting of officials who supported the war in Iraq, any move by his administration will be considered a betrayal.

The American people had lapsed in their assessment of campaign rhetoric, coming to believe and trust everything that was said, when it was merely a tool to advocate a policy of change.

No matter how serious the situation in Iraq gets, the focus of the next administration most likely will be on exclusively American interests.

Regardless of the number of politicians voicing their opposition to the war in Iraq, meanwhile, it is the small number of Cabinet-level decision-makers who will shape the policy of the next U.S. president.

The ongoing debate over the next Middle East policy

U.S. President-elect Barack Obama gave the impression he would bring change to Washington. But with President George Bush still in office, the United States is being run by two presidents with different policy agendas, Shabab al-Iraq news service said Monday.

The current administration is working expeditiously to pass last-minute legislation and put them into force before Obama takes office in January. Decisions made in the meantime bring life to the lame-duck presidency well after the next president moves into the White House.

These decisions, meanwhile, will make it difficult for the incoming administration to change course, notably on U.S. foreign policy toward Iraq.

Many observers, therefore, see the transitional period in Washington as a threat to U.S. national security as terrorist groups are more likely to carry out attacks in an effort to test the new president.

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(Edited by Daniel Graeber)