Coalition to cease rebel attacks during US election

Coalition attacks on rebel-held cities in Iraq will be suspended until after the US presidential election, it was reported today.

Large-scale assaults on cities such as Ramadi or Fallujah will be put on hold for fear that large numbers of US troops could be killed or injured, Government officials told the Los Angeles Times.

“When this election’s over, you’ll see us move very vigorously,” one senior administration official was quoted as saying.

“Once you’re past the election, it changes the political ramifications.” But the White House insisted that decisions on military operations would be left to commanders in Iraq.

A Pentagon official added that recent air strikes within the so-called Sunni Triangle were more effective than expected, meaning troop engagements could wait.

“We see no need to rush headlong with hundreds of tanks into Fallujah right now,” the official said.

The developments come with just three weeks to go until what is set to be a very tight election between President Bush and his Democratic challenger John Kerry. The election will take place on November 2.

A tracking poll, for the Washington Post, showed today that Mr Bush had the support of 51% of likely voters and Senator Kerry 46%.

Mr Bush has held an advantage since his Republican Convention last month, but Mr Kerry has closed the gap in recent weeks.

The battle for the White House has already become dirty, with so called television “attack-ads” being unveiled by by both sides.

In their latest planned commercial, Republicans will seize on comments by Senator Kerry over the weekend that terrorists are a “nuisance”.

In the New York Times magazine, the Massachusetts Senator said: “We have to get back to the place we were, where terrorists are not the focus of our lives, but they’re a nuisance.”

Bush campaign chairman Marc Racicot responded: “Quite frankly, I just don’t think he has the right view of the world. It’s a pre-9/11 view of the world.”

But Kerry campaign spokesman Phil Singer accused the Republicans of misrepresenting the Democrat.

“This is yet another example of the Bush campaign taking John Kerry’s words out of context, and then blowing it up into something that is nothing,” he said.

“John Kerry has always said that terrorism is the number one threat to the US.”

Senator Kerry’s comments are likely to become a focus of attention at the third and final televised presidential debate, which will take place in Arizona early on Thursday.