00:00And looking at Iraq on a map, sandwiched between Syria and Iran, I mean, it seems like Iraq's at a bit of a crossroads at the moment.
00:10Does it sort of veer towards being a bit more like Syria and engaging with the United States?
00:16Or does it go deeper into, you know, the sphere of influence of Iran?
00:21I mean, which way does Iraq turn at this point?
00:25Well, I think that depends a lot on who is actually in the end chosen as prime minister.
00:30There are parts of Iraq, particularly in the north, among the Christian community, the Kurdish community and many in the Sunni community who would like to see a closer relationship between the United States and Iraq.
00:43There are many, particularly in the Shia community and south of Baghdad, who, for historical reasons of religious affiliation, family ties, would probably like to see a close relationship with Tehran.
00:58And this is the balance that all Iraqi governments have had to make.
01:02So I think you're going to see different communities will want different relationships with the United States and Iran.
01:08So the choice of prime minister will not be determinative.
01:12But if you have a prime minister that will lean one way or another, that might slightly change the direction of where Iraqi government policy is going.
01:22If you look at the current prime minister's campaign speeches, Bahamid Shia Sadani,
01:27he is trying to take a position that is clearly in the middle between Tehran and Washington and has said that there is no inherent right for American forces to be in Iraq.
01:40So I think he's trying to play both sides, if you will, saying that he would like to maintain Iraq's independence as much as possible from the two countries that probably have the most interest in the outcome, and that is the United States and Iran.
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