New York: Many Iraqis now believe that if presumptive Republican Presidential candidate John McCain succeeds George W Bush president, the US forces would have a large presence in the country for a very long time, a media report said.

McCain, who arrived in Baghdad yesterday was expected to meet some Iraqi and US officials.

"This visit confirms that the Republicans believe that the Iraqi war is very important in the fight against terrorism in the Middle East," Wael Abdul Latif, an independent Shiite member of the Iraqi Parliament, told the New York Times.

"It's a message to Iran that the United States will never leave, even after Bush is gone."

Describing the visit as an "advertisement for the American elections, Jalaladeen Sagheer, a senior member of the Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council, a leading Shiite party, said it showed McCain's commitment to staying in Iraq.

"It suggests that American officials will make good on their promises," he said.

But the Times said Some Sunni Arabs were not pleased by the visit. "If the Republicans win the election, then nothing will really change in Iraq, and we need a big change to kick the occupiers out of the country," Abu Mohammed, a 30-year-old barbershop owner in Samarra, was quoted as saying.

"I would like to show him the schools and hospitals and how the children and women suffer."

Another Samarra shop owner, 52-year-old Hamid Saleh, said he wanted the Republicans to lose the election. "All I want is someone who works to fix my country, and not destroy it," he said.
Source : PTI