WASHINGTON (AFP)---Here are the positions of Democratic White House hopeful Barack Obama and his Republican rival John McCain on some of the main issues in the US presidential campaign:
   
   ECONOMY
   McCain: Pledges to maintain and even extend tax cuts put in place under President George W. Bush. He has proposed a reduction in the corporate tax rate from 35 percent to 25 percent as well as reductions on taxes on capital gains and individual retirement accounts.
   McCain has promised to balance the budget by the end of his first term in 2013 and has unveiled a 300 billion-dollar "McCain Resurgence Plan" to buy up bad home loans from homeowners and mortgage servicers, and replace them with
fixed-rate mortgages, enabling families to stay in their homes.
   Firmly against public deficits, he has vowed to fight "porkbarreling" or congressional earmarks and has proposed a year-long freeze on federal spending
except for expenditures on defense and veterans care.
   
   Obama: Promises to cut taxes for working class families and low-income homes earning less than 75,000 dollars a year, while raising taxes for those homes with an average income of more than 250,000 dollars per year. Obama says 95 percent of Americans would see their taxes lowered or unchanged.
   He has proposed a 50 billion dollar fund to jumpstart the economy and save more than a million Americans from losing their jobs.
   With the start of the sub-prime mortgage crisis, Obama proposed a 90-day moratorium on home foreclosures. He has also set out a 10 percent universal mortgage credit to homeowners, which would give an average of 500 dollars to
10 million homeowners, the majority of whom earn less than 50,000 dollars a
year.
   He has also called for greater oversight of mortgage companies.
   
   IRAQ
   McCain: Is a fervent supporter of the US surge launched in 2007. He has vowed "no surrender" and has said he is convinced that Washington is winning the war against the insurgency.
   He believes it would be a mistake to leave Iraq before the Al-Qaeda in Iraq is defeated and before a properly trained Iraqi security force is in place.
When Iraqi troops can safeguard their country, then US troops can go home.
   He will also push for political reconciliation in Iraq, and has urged a greater UN role in upcoming elections.
   Obama: Said he was against the war in 2002 and has vowed to end the conflict and begin to withdraw the troops immediately. He says military commanders believe US troops can be withdrawn from Iraq at the rate of one or two brigades a month. That would take 16 months, until mid-2010.
   A residual force would remain in Iraq for counter-insurgency missions and to protect American personnel, but Obama is opposed to establishing permanent
bases.
   He further believes that the US government must pressure the Iraqi leadership to work towards an real political accommodation, and will launch a diplomacy drive among Iraq's neighbors to help achieve stability in the region.
   
   ENERGY
   Obama: Wants to limit carbon gas emissions and has fixed the goal of reducing greenhouse gases by 80 percent by 2050. He wants to pump 150 billion dollars into the research of clean energy over the next 10 years. Now supports after initially opposing limited US offshore drilling.
   Within 10 years, he wants to save more oil than is currently imported from the Middle East and Venezuela and create some five million green collar jobs.  Obama also wants to put seom one million plug-in hybrid cars which can get 150 miles to the gallon on the roads by 2015.
   McCain: Wants to expand America's offshore drilling and promote and expand
the use of domestic supplies of natural gas.
   Also wants to limit carbon gas emissions but has set a slightly more modest goal of cutting them by two-thirds by 2050. He wants to build 45 nuclear energy plants, and is opposed to federal support for clean energy.
   McCain will also issue a Clean Car Challenge with a 5,000 dollar tax credit for evey customer who buys a zero cabron emission car. He will also committ two billion a year to promoting clean coal initiatives.
   
   HEALTH CARE
   McCain: Believes health care should be made more accessible, and believes
this can be achieved by increasing competition in the market place among insurers. He thus proposes replacing a tax break on employer-sponsored health
plans with a 5,000 dollar tax credit enabling working Americans to shop around
for coverage.
   He also proposes greater oversight of insurance and pharmaceutical companies to prevent them from profiting unreasonably at the expense of consumers.
   Obama: Wants all Americans to be covered by a universal health care plan.
   His plan, based on incentives and cost cuts, would be voluntary but oblige parents to insure their children.
   He also wants to require insurance companies to cover pre-existing health conditions, and provide a small business tax credit to help them afford protection for all employees.
   
   IRAN
   McCain: Says "there is only one thing worse than military action and that is a nuclear-armed Iran." He is against any presidential-level talks, which he believes would only lend legitimacy to the regime's hardliners. He would like to tighten sanctions, mostly economic, outside the UN sphere if necessary.

   Obama: Is in favor of launching a dialogue with Iran, without pre-conditions as he says it represents a serious threat to the Middle East region and the United States. He has indicated talks would begin at a lower level first. He says he will offer Tehran that it if abandons its nuclear program and support for terrorism, the US would offer incentives like membership in the World Trade Organization, economic investments, and a move toward normal diplomatic relations.
   
   MIDDLE EAST AND ISRAEL
   McCain: Supports US military aid to Israel and says he is Hamas' "worst enemy." He has repeatedly said the radical Palestinian Islamist movement would
welcome an Obama victory. He encourages talks between Israel and Palestinian
president Mahmud Abbas, and has called for Hamas, Hezbollah, and Syria to be
politically isolated. He believes the Israeli war on Lebanon in 2006 was
justified.
   Obama: The US commitment to Israel is "non-negotiable." He envisages isolating Hamas and Hezbollah, as long as the Islamic militant groups refuse to renounce terrorism or recognize the right of Israel to exist. He has criticized Jewish settlements in the Palestinian territories as unhelpful to the peace process, and is in favor of policies which can boost the influence of moderate Palestinians.
   
   RUSSIA
   McCain: Has called for Russia to be excluded from the Group of Eight most
industrialized nations and criticized former president and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin as "a dangerous man."
   Obama: Has denounced "Russian aggression" in Georgia and says pressure has to be kept up on Moscow to be more transparent and democratic. He says he will
address the challenges posed by a resurgent Russia with a strategy which will
encompass the entire region.
   
   IMMIGRATION
   McCain: Was a key mover in 2006 legislation to try to regularize the situation of illegal immigrants, but insists on the need to secure the borders before any other reforms can be carried out.
   Obama: Supports immigration reform which boosts border controls while legalizing under certain conditions the 12 million illegal immigrants already in the United States.
   
   INTERNATIONAL TRADE
   McCain: Supports NAFTA and sees free trade as an important tool in US foreign policy, notably in the Middle East. Unlike Obama, he supports a free trade accord with Colombia.
   Obama: Has attacked the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) with
Canada and Mexico and says he would renegotiate it. He argues that "free trade" agreements need to incorporate protections for workers and the environment.