BAGHDAD, Nov 4 (AFP) - US President George W. Bush's victory could open the door to assaults on Iraqi rebels but may also pave the way to more cooperation with US allies in aiding the war-shattered country's recovery, observers and analysts said Thursday.
Prospects of a second Bush term will bring much-needed continuity to Iraq as it prepares for elections in January amid an increasingly deadly insurgency that has been marked by a wave of kidnappings and car bombings, they said.
"Bush's win is a good thing because it will mean stability rather than change, and significant change is the worst thing you can have when you're in the middle of trying to do something difficult," said an American construction contractor working in Baghdad.
Iraqi Prime Minister Iyad Allawi, on a visit to Europe, told reporters Thursday he was "not worried" about the possibility that the US electorate's reaction could damage Washington's commitment to his country.
"We know that the United States is committed: the people of the US have helped Iraq and will continue to do so.
"We believe the United States will maintain course until the Iraqi forces are capable of handling the threats and facing the challenges," he said.
The Iraqi leader's visit comes on the heels of Bush's victory in a divisive election overshadowed by the conflict, after which he could seek to repair frayed relations with those allies who rejected his Iraq policies.
"I think (Bush) has become more mature and has learned from his mistakes. Free from the election pressures he'll be more realistic and more cooperative and respectful of the UN and the international community," said Mohammed al-Askari, a former army officer turned political analyst.
But some also said his victory will usher in renewed strikes against insurgents and acknowledged the likelihood of increased violence as Bush and his allies struggle to make the rebellious Sunni heartland secure enough for the vote to go forward.
"We're going to step up the tempo going after the insurgents but it's going to take a while," said a US government employee who gave him name as Greg.
US ground troops have encircled the rebel stronghold of Fallujah since mid-October, and Allawi issued a new ultimatum to the city on Sunday to surrender insurgents holed up inside or face an all-out military assault.
Leaders in Fallujah have denied that Zarqawi is holed up there.
US war planes hammered rebel targets in Fallujah overnight, destroying several suspected insurgent positions, the US military said.
Violence also flared in nearby Ramadi and at least four Iraqis were killed and 18 wounded when a car bomb exploded in a town north of Baghdad.
"US troops will enter Fallujah, Latifiyah, Ramadi and Qaim all at once in the next few days after Bush's re-election," said Askari, referring to other flashpoints.
"There is an agenda that must be implemented ... Bush is now free from the pressures of his electorate."
But others warned that military operations alone will not pull Iraq out of its crisis and that the Bush administration needs to be much more broad-minded if it is going to resolve the situation in the battered country.
"The election is good news for Allawi's government, which will go on with its policies, the election and wiping out the insurgency, but we also need economic and political solutions," said Abdel-Jabbar Ahman, a political science professor at Baghdad University.

11/04/2004 16:20 GMT - AFP