Iraq war fades from US election

Many Americans seem to have forgotten the Iraq war in this election cycle. Joe Luccioni is not one of them.

"You can't forget them," he told Reuters as he waited with other volunteers who come to the Dallas Fort Worth International Airport to greet soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan.

Mr Luccioni, a fit-looking retiree who served in the Army from 1959 to 1963, is an exception these days.

As Republican John McCain and Democrat Barack Obama enter the home stretch in their race to the November 4 presidential election, the war in Iraq seems to have faded from view.

Analysts say this is explained by three main factors: The riveting of public attention on the battered economy and plunging markets, the decline in violence in Iraq, and a narrowing of the candidates' differences on the war.

Opinion polls consistently show the unpopular war to be below the worsening economy, energy issues and health care on the list of voter concerns, though it still tends to trump hot-button social issues such as abortion and gay marriage.

"It's not a big consideration right now for most voters," said Scott Keeter of the Pew Research Centre.

Even those directly affected by the war can see why it is hard to focus the public's attention on it.

"It's because things like the economy have hit ... the most recent topic is going to be the topic," said 33-year-old Clint Hendryx as he waited, roses in hand, for his wife Cari, an army x-ray technician returning from a six-month tour of Iraq.

Analysts say the Iraq war being pushed down on the list of voter concerns benefits Mr Obama because national security is one of the trump cards for Mr McCain, a 72-year-old Vietnam veteran and former prisoner of war.

Most polls show Mr Obama with a small but growing lead as the economic news goes from bad to worse.

"Violence against civilians and attacks against US troops are down. This has taken the war off the front pages and moved the election away from Mr McCain's strong suit," said David Epstein, a political scientist at Columbia University.

Violence in Iraq has fallen to around four-year lows in recent months though militants still have been capable of large-scale attacks. Close to 4,200 US soldiers have been killed in Iraq and surrounding areas since the American-led invasion in 2003.

Many analysts attribute the falling levels of violence at least partly to the "surge," a steady build-up in US forces last year.