WASHINGTON — Interim Iraqi Prime Minister Iyad Allawi has emerged as an impassioned witness for the defense in America's presidential election, unambiguously echoing President Bush's key arguments about Iraq and forcing Sen. John F. Kerry into the unusual position of tangling with a foreign head of state during the campaign.
During his visit to the U.S. this week, highlighted Thursday by his speech to Congress and a news conference with the president, Allawi offered almost exactly the same assessment of Iraq as Bush: Conditions are better than they appear, elections for a national assembly are on track, and his country is a crucial front in the global war against terrorism.
If Americans see Allawi as a credible messenger, that could boost Bush -- whose management of the war and the reconstruction of Iraq are under increasing fire from Kerry.
"Allawi's two most important messages are: 'It's working and the Iraqi people are behind it,' " said Steven Kull, director of the University of Maryland's Program on International Policy Attitudes. "If he can convince the public of those two things, it is going to be very helpful to Bush."
But Kull said it was unclear whether Americans would see Allawi as a reliable source, given the continuing violence in Iraq and his vested interest in portraying events there in the most positive light.
Democrats moved quickly to fuel skepticism, denouncing Allawi's message.
Although Kerry was relatively restrained in disputing the upbeat portrayal, some of his aides suggested that Allawi was simply doing the bidding of the Bush administration, which helped arrange his appointment in June.
"The last thing you want to be seen as is a puppet of the United States, and you can almost see the hand underneath the shirt today moving the lips," said Joe Lockhart, a senior Kerry advisor.
White House officials denied scripting Allawi's remarks. The Iraqi leader has said he has no preference in the presidential race, but in interviews this week and his speech Thursday, Allawi forcefully rebutted virtually every major argument Kerry has made against the war.
"We are succeeding in Iraq," Allawi told Congress. And at their joint news conference, Bush signaled what could become a recurring campaign theme when he enlisted Allawi as an expert witness in the debate over Iraq. In response to skeptical questions about the war's progress, Bush in effect told voters that if they didn't believe him, they should listen to Allawi.
