WASHINGTON, March 30 (UPI) -- An upswing in violence in Iraq has reverberated on the presidential campaign trail, with candidates staking their positions on the war, a former diplomat says.
The New York Times reported the increase in violence could particularly affect the campaign of Arizona Sen. John McCain, the presumptive Republican nominee, because winning the Iraq war is the bedrock of his campaign.
For Democratic presidential hopefuls Sens. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, the increased fighting in Basara is evidence that the U.S. troop surge has failed to deliver the stability many Republicans, including McCain, promised.
Dennis Ross, a Middle East peace negotiator in the administrations of the first President Bush and President Bill Clinton, said the violence posed risks for McCain as well as Democrats.
"Senator McCain is more vulnerable than the Democrats, because this is a reminder of how messy the situation remains in Iraq," Ross was quoted as saying.
"This is an interesting reminder of how much remains to be done. With the main focus having been on the military side, the surge has not created enough of a self-sustaining political fabric."
