‘We need a strong leader’: Trump’s popularity high among Iraqis
(FOX)- Donald Trump’s favorability rating is sky-high here, where citizens are paying surprisingly close attention to the U.S. election and see the developer and political novice as the clear choice for the White House.
In dozens of interviews FoxNews.com conducted in various cities across the country this month – with Iraqis from different religions and walks of life – the overwhelming majority support Trump over Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton. Many believe Trump would be tough on terror, and blame Clinton – at least in part – for policies that have destabilized much of the Middle East.
“America should leave the political correctness and be tough on these countries that finance terrorism,” Nseeif Al-Khattabi, a Shia Muslim and governor of the Holy Karbala Province Council, told FoxNews.com. “We need a strong leader and if Trump needs me to speak at a rally I will come. If he follows his words and his strong stance and points his fingers at these countries that support terrorism, he will be able to stop it.”
Another very highly-placed leader in Iraq’s security and intelligence arena, who requested anonymity, stressed that the U.S. troop pullout in 2011 was a mistake, and said Iraqis are looking to the next administration to once again develop a strong military relationship.
“The Iraq invasion was not wrong, but the decisions that followed were wrong,” said the official. “Keeping the army intact and getting rid of the Saddam loyalist bad apples, while keeping our security institutions in place would have been better.”
Mamoul Al-Samraaii, the Baghdad-based head of the Al Itfaq political party, a non-sectarian, economy-focused bloc, said he was impressed meeting Clinton as Secretary of State in 2010 and that he was also impressed by Trump’s business acumen. But ultimately, Samraaii noted, choosing his words carefully, he is looking to the next U.S. President for support in propelling Iraq into a more capitalist economy with imports and exports beyond the oil market.