Vehicle of choice in Iraq is late-model 'Monica':

IRBIL, Iraq - It's a car.

It's a truck.

It's a "Monica."

In Iraq, no set of wheels is held in higher regard than the large, mostly white Toyota Land Cruiser sport-utility vehicles long favored by government officials, intelligence agents and VIPs from Basra to Kirkuk.

Locals call the vehicles "Monicas,"' as in Lewinsky, after the former White House intern whose appearance meets Iraqi standards for both feminine and automotive beauty.

"She's a beautiful girl, and it's a beautiful car,"' said Ghazi Abdullah Dormari, whose auto-trading lot in the Kurdish city of Irbil features several late-model Monicas.

"They are a very tempting car,"' said Marwan Shaban, a car dealer in the nearby northern city of Mosul. "Just as Monica tempted Clinton, they will tempt you."

"Iraqi standards for both feminine and automotive beauty" indeed.