Former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein goes to court today to face charges lodged by the interim government that now holds the national authority he once abused. The turnabout paints a movie-plot scenario in which the tyrant gets his comeuppance at the hands of the countrymen he brutalized. The future isn’t that clear, but the turnover of power this week in Iraq was a significant milestone, at least in a symbolic way. Had the U.S.-led coalition that toppled Saddam not kept to its own schedule for the transition, it would have been a geopolitical disaster. But whether the transfer ultimately advances democracy and freedom in Iraq depends on developments we can’t anticipate. It would cheapen the objectives if we treated them as easily attained. It has to be up to the Iraqis themselves, and they face a daunting mix of challenges. There is no democratic tradition to draw upon. Multiple power-hungry factions are waiting to see how much influence they can seize. Neighbor nations bring another tier of pressures to bear. Meanwhile, rogue terrorists perpetrate destabilizing mayhem, generally beyond the reach of authorities. Against this backdrop is the continued presence of some 140,000 American military personnel – necessary to provide security for self-governance but evidence to skeptical minds that Iraq’s new-gained sovereignty is at the pleasure of an occupying force. Encouragingly, a recent, U.S.-commissioned poll shows that Iraqis have confidence in the interim government and are optimistic about the future by wide margins. A similar poll previously showed similar levels of disapproval of the job the U.S.-led coalition was doing. It’s also good news that NATO partners will bring an international presence to the country by assuming responsibility for training Iraq’s own security forces. Thus, although the United States’ reason for being in Iraq at all is debatable and built on shifting rationales, we are there and our presence has set off a sequence of events that the Iraqis now have to manage. We owe it to the people of Iraq to support a promising environment that will allow the self-government process to have success. For now, that means the presence of U.S. troops. But it also means having a clear plan to remove those troops in a reasonably short time. If we don’t, we will handicap any new government by making it look like our puppet. At the same time, we have to make sure we aren’t just providing cover for a new government that is bent on establishing not freedom and democracy but its own brand of tyranny. That’s a trap we’ve fallen into in other parts of the world – Central America, the Philippines, Southeast Asia. Iraqi freedom and American honor both depend on how we manage our way through the end of this process.