U.S. hands power to Iraq
BAGHDAD, Iraq – The U.S.-led coalition transferred sovereignty to an interim Iraqi government today, speeding up the move by two days in an apparent bid to surprise insurgents who may have tried to sabotage the step toward self-rule.
Legal documents handing over sovereignty were handed over by U.S. governor L. Paul Bremer to interim Prime Minister Iyad Allawi in a small ceremony attended by about half a dozen Iraqi and coalition officials in the heavily guarded Green Zone.
“This is a historical day,” Allawi said during the ceremony. “We feel we are capable of controlling the security situation.”
Bremer will leave Iraq sometime today, coalition officials said on condition of anonymity.
The ceremony took place in a formal room with Louis XIV furniture in an office in the building formerly used by the Iraqi Governing Council. Officials were seated in gilded chairs around a table, in the center of which was a bowl of flowers with a small Iraqi flag in it.
Just before the hand-over occurred, everyone stood up, and documents were passed to Chief Justice Midhat al-Mahmoudi at 10:26 a.m. local time. At that point, legal sovereignty was passed.
Brig. Gen. Mark Kimmitt, the coalition deputy operations chief, was the only U.S. military official present.
Bremer sat on the couch with Allawi and President Ghazi al-Yawer.
“We’d like to express our thanks to the coalition,” al-Yawer said. “There is no way to turn back now.”
In Istanbul, Turkey, where President Bush and other leaders are attending a NATO summit, the U.S. administration said it was pleased by the early transfer and said it was a proud day for the Iraqi people.
Coalition officials said Bush already had sent a letter to al-Yawer formally requesting diplomatic relations.
“You have said, and we agreed, that you are ready for sovereignty,” Bremer said in the ceremony. “I will leave Iraq confident in its future.”
Allawi said he requested that the sovereignty be transferred earlier, reflecting a preference to have Iraqis control their own destiny as soon as possible. Last Thursday, the coalition transferred the final 11 of the 26 government ministries to full Iraqi control, meaning Iraqis were already handling the day to day operations of the interim administration.
Bremer went on a series of farewell visits to areas throughout the country over the past few days.
With the transfer, the Iraqis now face the daunting task of securing law and order with the help of about 135,000 U.S. troops and about 20,000 more from other coalition countries.
“We have been laying down strategies for protecting our people,” Allawi said after the ceremony, adding that he would spell out details at a news conference later.
“The blood that has been spilled in Iraq has been spilled for a very good reason,” Allawi said, explaining that it was in the cause of democracy and freedom.