Iraqi politicians greeted the the selection of Joe Biden as the Democratic vice presidential candidate with dismay because they oppose his soft partition plan for Iraq, an affront to Iraqi conceptions of national unity.
In contrast, the Sulaymaniya newspaper Kirkuk ran an article by Zana Galali, that, according to BBC Monitoring, “Says that the US senator, Joseph Biden, has reasonable visions toward Iraq and Kurdistan; nominating him to the vice president position of the US has its significant on Kurds; and Iraqi issues.” A lot of Iraqi Kurds are separationists and so welcomed the Biden plan, whatever Kurdish leaders said in public.
Sudan’s ruling party has reason to be alarmed by the selection of Joe Biden as the Democratic vice presidential candidate, according to the Sudan Tribune. Biden has said of the Darfur conflict, “it’s time to put force on the table and use it” and seems to propose inserting 2500 US or NATO troops into the vast, politically fractious African nation.
On the other hand, there was a sigh of relief in Iran:
BBC World Monitoring translates an item from Etemad from Aug. 24:
‘ E’TEMAD (from hardcopy)
1. Report by the international desk, entitled: “Joseph Biden, Obama’s vice-president – Biden and Iran”. The report believes that following the selection of the democrat senator, Joseph Biden, as Barack Obama’s vice-president, it is anticipated that Biden’s experience as the head of Senate’s foreign relations committee would be of great help to Obama’s victory in electoral competitions; an election in which foreign issues like Iran, Iraq, Iraq and Russia are more decisive than domestic American policies. It also adds that despite having directed numerous verbal attacks at Mahmud Ahmadinezhad, Biden is generally considered to be a moderate politician towards issues related to Iran.’
Biden appeared on Iran’s Press TV applauding the Bush administration’s direct diplomacy with Tehran last month.
Haaretz says Biden may help Obama with the American Jewish vote and reassure Israelis.
The Turkish press says Biden has consistently voted against Turkish interests but that at least he knows Turkish affairs well and that could be an advantage.
The Delhi papers spoke of the VP pick as “India Friend Joe Biden“.
The German press had mixed reactions, which track with those in the US press.
The Irish Times seems happiest of all.
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