thedrifter
11-04-08, 05:55 AM
Troops follow voting in Iraq
By Denis D. Gray - The Associated Press
Posted : Tuesday Nov 4, 2008 5:51:47 EST
MOSUL, Iraq — U.S. soldiers in Mosul, where war still rages, caught a glimpse of the election battle back home as they ate breakfast Tuesday, awaiting the outcome of a contest that could decide the future of the mission in Iraq.
Three of four TV screens at the dining hall at Camp Marez in the northern Iraqi city were tuned to sports and only one to CNN, where Sen. Barack Obama’s last rally at Manassas, Va., was being shown live.
Soldiers said they would continue with their mission Tuesday and nothing special was planned for election day. Those who voted had already mailed in their absentee ballots long ago.
Sgt. James Fowler, 27, of Fresno, Calif., praised the Army for encouraging soldiers to vote and helping them with absentee ballots. He said he voted for Obama but “I am outnumbered 10-to-one, especially among officers” and senior non-commissioned officers who said they wanted Sen. John McCain to win.
“Everyone is looking forward to McCain,” he said. “But I believe it’s time for change and Obama has promised that. At least he has given us a timeline” for withdrawing from Iraq.
Obama has called for bringing all combat soldiers home within 16 months. McCain, a veteran and former Vietnam War prisoner, says the current U.S. strategy in Iraq is working and has promised to pursue the war until victory.
For Iraqis, the stakes could not be higher, though many of them said they did not think U.S. policy would change dramatically no matter who wins the White House.
“We hope that the new American president will open a new page with our country which was suffering along 35 years under former regime and is still suffering a lot under the occupation,” said Baghdad resident Mohammed al-Tamimi.
“We don’t have freedom, we don’t have independence. Our wealth is not under our control. We are not happy now,” he said.
One Iraqi Christian woman who refused to give her name for security reasons told Associated Press Television in Baghdad that she was hoping McCain would win because she fears Obama would withdraw U.S. troops quickly “and make chaos in our country.”
Back in Mosul, Sgt. Anthony Vess, of Bethlehem, Pa., said “a lot of people are worked up” about the election “but whoever wins I think the U.S. will be able to bounce back from all its problems.”
Vess, 27, said he thought a lot of younger soldiers supported Obama’s Iraq policy “but we all have an obligation to our Army and our country.”
“This war has taken up a chunk of my life,” he said. “I consider myself a peacekeeper not a war fighter.”
Sgt. 1st Class Luis Rosedo, a Puerto Rican serving with the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment, said soldiers were too busy to follow the election as closely as Americans back home.
“I’d rather be there than here on election day,” he said. “It’s more exciting than the last one. I haven’t followed the campaign too closely, just watched some TV when I’m here. I’ve been too busy.”
Ellie
By Denis D. Gray - The Associated Press
Posted : Tuesday Nov 4, 2008 5:51:47 EST
MOSUL, Iraq — U.S. soldiers in Mosul, where war still rages, caught a glimpse of the election battle back home as they ate breakfast Tuesday, awaiting the outcome of a contest that could decide the future of the mission in Iraq.
Three of four TV screens at the dining hall at Camp Marez in the northern Iraqi city were tuned to sports and only one to CNN, where Sen. Barack Obama’s last rally at Manassas, Va., was being shown live.
Soldiers said they would continue with their mission Tuesday and nothing special was planned for election day. Those who voted had already mailed in their absentee ballots long ago.
Sgt. James Fowler, 27, of Fresno, Calif., praised the Army for encouraging soldiers to vote and helping them with absentee ballots. He said he voted for Obama but “I am outnumbered 10-to-one, especially among officers” and senior non-commissioned officers who said they wanted Sen. John McCain to win.
“Everyone is looking forward to McCain,” he said. “But I believe it’s time for change and Obama has promised that. At least he has given us a timeline” for withdrawing from Iraq.
Obama has called for bringing all combat soldiers home within 16 months. McCain, a veteran and former Vietnam War prisoner, says the current U.S. strategy in Iraq is working and has promised to pursue the war until victory.
For Iraqis, the stakes could not be higher, though many of them said they did not think U.S. policy would change dramatically no matter who wins the White House.
“We hope that the new American president will open a new page with our country which was suffering along 35 years under former regime and is still suffering a lot under the occupation,” said Baghdad resident Mohammed al-Tamimi.
“We don’t have freedom, we don’t have independence. Our wealth is not under our control. We are not happy now,” he said.
One Iraqi Christian woman who refused to give her name for security reasons told Associated Press Television in Baghdad that she was hoping McCain would win because she fears Obama would withdraw U.S. troops quickly “and make chaos in our country.”
Back in Mosul, Sgt. Anthony Vess, of Bethlehem, Pa., said “a lot of people are worked up” about the election “but whoever wins I think the U.S. will be able to bounce back from all its problems.”
Vess, 27, said he thought a lot of younger soldiers supported Obama’s Iraq policy “but we all have an obligation to our Army and our country.”
“This war has taken up a chunk of my life,” he said. “I consider myself a peacekeeper not a war fighter.”
Sgt. 1st Class Luis Rosedo, a Puerto Rican serving with the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment, said soldiers were too busy to follow the election as closely as Americans back home.
“I’d rather be there than here on election day,” he said. “It’s more exciting than the last one. I haven’t followed the campaign too closely, just watched some TV when I’m here. I’ve been too busy.”
Ellie