US soldiers fighting for a democratic Afghanistan had little interest Wednesday in their own electoral process, saying Republican gains were unlikely to change the course of the war.
"It's ironic that we're trying to establish democracy in Afghanistan — in September we were monitoring elections here — but in the army there's a lot of apathy to our own democratic process," Specialist Bowen Cho told AFP.
Cho, a medic from Long Island, was the only one of about 20 American soldiers interviewed who had heard the news of President Barack Obama's electoral rout in mid-term balloting.
Tuesday's elections saw the Republicans take control of the House of Representatives, setting the stage for two years of legislative gridlock.
Most soldiers at Kandahar Airfield, one of the biggest NATO bases in Afghanistan, said they were either not interested in politics or too busy to keep up with news from home because of their role in the war with the Taliban.
The insurgency has been raging for more than nine years, since the Taliban regime was overthrown in a US-led invasion in late 2001. It is concentrated in the southern hotspots of Kandahar and Helmand provinces.
NATO and the United States have more than 150,000 troops deployed to Afghanistan, and this year have lost more than 600 soldiers in the war.
The few soldiers who, like Specialist Cho, had followed the election said American voters were more concerned about their bank balances than in the conflict in Afghanistan.
"Voters were far more interested in the economy and day-to-day life than this faraway war," said intelligence officer Lieutenant John Auten, of the 2nd Stryker Cavalry Regiment.
Unemployment near 10 percent and the faltering economy were the main issues in the campaign that saw resurgent Republicans, led by conservative Tea Party activists, take at least 50 seats to seize the House of Representatives.
"There's going to be no change in policy on Afghanistan," said Auten, a view shared by all soldiers interviewed by AFP at the dusty base, where fighter jets, unmanned drones and transport planes take off and land round the clock.
But Democratic voter Staff Sergeant Latoya Gregory said she thought Obama's promised draw-down of troops, scheduled to begin next July, might be delayed because of the Republican victory.
"I think it'll probably happen later because (former US president George W.) Bush was a Republican and he's the man who got us here in the first place," she said.
"The Republicans are more into the war and us being here over here."
US and NATO officials have sought to portray the war effort as making slow yet steady progress, but reports from the ground have been mixed.
Momentum is seen to have turned in the Taliban's favour as their influence spreads across the country, with Obama's July 2011 deadline boosting insurgent morale and handing them a propaganda coup.
"I didn't follow the election campaign and I didn't vote," said one soldier who declined to give his name.
"The only thing I care about is the don't ask, don't tell' policy," he added, referring to the US military preventing commanders asking troops about their sexual orientation, while barring the openly gay from service.
"Whichever side is going to keep that is the side I am for," he said.
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