US weary of war, says academic

THE US public is becoming impatient with the war in Iraq and will give the next US president leeway in dealing with the issue…

THE US public is becoming impatient with the war in Iraq and will give the next US president leeway in dealing with the issue, a leading historian told an audience in Cork yesterday.

Prof Lloyd Gardner was speaking at University College Cork at a conference on War and American Identity.

He said the next president would be besieged by the Pentagon to continue existing policies on Iraq. However, he said: "I think that what has happened in the course of the presidential campaign is that Iraq has moved back, and the economy has taken first position. This will give whoever is elected more leeway to attempt to deal with the Iraq situation."