U.S. Overseer Holds Ceremony Without Notice, and Departs

[Matt]

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/06/28/international/28CND-IRAQ.html?hp

U.S. Overseer Holds Ceremony Without Notice, and Departs
By DEXTER FILKINS

BAGHDAD, Iraq, June 28 — The American-led military occupation of this restive land formally ended today 15 months after Saddam Hussein was swept from power, with Iraq's new leaders taking over in a surprise ceremony that came two days ahead of schedule. The early transfer was designed to foil attacks by guerrilla insurgents whom American forces are still struggling to vanquish.

L. Paul Bremer III, the chief American administrator who arrived last May to a country in flames, restored Iraqi sovereignty in a simple meeting called on no public notice, deep inside the heavily fortified American occupation headquarters area known as the Green Zone.

American aides and Iraqi officials, who were bracing for a wave of terrorist attacks on Wednesday, the date initially set for the transfer, said they had moved up the ceremony, and held it in near total secrecy, in order to foil any terrorist plots that might be in the works.

Standing amid an array of gilded furniture left behind by Mr. Hussein, Mr. Bremer handed Ayad Allawi, the new Iraqi prime minister, a leather-encased note from President Bush, indicating that the American-led military occupation had formally ended. The Coalition Provisional Authority, the civilian administration that Mr. Bremer led, was dissolved.

As he did often in his tenure here, Mr. Bremer harkened back to the crimes of Mr. Hussein as a starting point for the American-led efforts to build a democracy in this country, which has never known it. Only a day before, Mr. Bremer said, he had visited Hilla, the site of one of the mass graves that Mr. Hussein dug for the thousands of victims of his murderous regime.

"Anybody who has any doubt about whether Iraq is a better place today than it was 14 months ago should go down to see the mass graves in Hilla, or see any of the torture chambers or rape rooms around this country," Mr. Bremer said. "Anybody who has seen those things that I have will know that Iraq is a much better place."

With that, Mr. Bremer flew by helicopter to the Baghdad International Airport, where he boarded an American C-130 military transport and left the country. The entire ceremony, witnessed by no more than 30 people, lasted about 10 minutes.

Only hours after Mr. Bremer's departure, the new American ambassador here, John Negroponte, landed at Baghdad International Airport.

Soon after Mr. Bremer departed, Dr. Allawi and the other members of his interim government, chosen during a United Nations-sponsored process earlier this month, took the oath of office, with Dr. Allawi and the new Iraqi president, Sheikh Ghazi Yawar, celebrating the restoration of the country's independence but warning that difficult days lay ahead.

"We want a free, democratic Iraq that will be a source of peace and stability for the region and the whole world," Mr. Yawar said. "We would like to express thanks to our friends in the coalition for their efforts and dedication."

"We want to tell them all their sacrifices will not go in vain," Mr. Yawar said. "We are determined, we are committed, there is no way to turn back."

In Istanbul, where they were meeting with NATO leaders, President Bush and Prime Minister Tony Blair of Britain, the United States' principal ally in the Iraq war, praised Iraq's new leaders and pledged to stand behind them.

"They're gutsy, courageous and, as they say in Texas, they're stand-up guys," Mr. Bush said. "They'll lead. They'll lead their people to a better day."

According to the United Nations resolution declaring an end to the occupation, Mr. Yawar and his colleagues regained full control over their country, its people and its borders. But the reality is likely to be quite different; Iraq's new leaders, for all their assurances today, are still largely dependent on the United States and other countries for their security and solvency.

Some 160,000 troops from the United States, Great Britain and other countries still remain here, most of them tied down fighting a guerrilla insurgency whose ferocity and ruthlessness seems to grow by the day. It is unclear how much control, if any, the new Iraqi government will exercise over the foreign troops on its soil. Indeed, it is uncertain how much practical, day-to-day control the new Iraqi government will exercise even over its own army and police.

Even with Mr. Bremer's departure and the dissolution of the authority, the American government will retain enormous influence presence here, staffing an embassy that they say will be the world's largest and controlling the flow of more than $8 billion in American reconstruction aid.

The symbols of that new order were much in evidence at the Green Zone in the hours after Iraq's sovereignty had been formally returned. A bright new Iraqi flag flew over the sprawling compound for the first time, snapping under a smoldering sun. But as the ceremonies unfolded, American Apache helicopters swooped and circled overhead, bristling with missiles and guns.

What's more, by its own design, the new Iraqi leadership that took over today has publicly entertained only modest ambitions, forswearing any major treaties or domestic initiatives beyond defeating the insurgency and preparing for the country's first nationwide elections, scheduled to take place no later than January 31, 2005.

Sensing those limits, the Iraqi people welcomed the return of their sovereignty today with a mostly measured calm. When word of the ceremony began trickling out, Iraqis by and large did not engage in the celebratory gunfire and whooping cheers that greeted a recent victory of the Iraqi team or the capture last December of Mr. Hussein.

Still, many Iraqis expressed a guarded optimism that the chaos of the past 15 months would begin to subside, and that the country's new democratic institutions, implanted by Western armies, might be given a chance to work.

"There is only one thing we are looking for now — an elected government in the future," said Kamal Mohammed, a shopkeeper in the Sunni-dominated who brimmed with optimism for the new Iraqi state. "Even a 100-mile journey starts with a first step."

Dr. Allawi, the former Baath Party member and a leading opponent of Mr. Hussein, made no mention today of some of harsher measures he and his colleagues have been contemplating to help crush the insurgency. In recent days, Dr. Allawi has said that the new government may impose some form of emergency rule, which could restrict the Western-style freedoms enshrined in the interim constitution that Iraqis leaders drafted at great effort earlier this year. In Istanbul, President Bush said that coalition forces in Iraq would support any decision by the Iraqi leadership to declare martial law.

And Dr. Allawi said nothing of postponing the elections until the security situation improved, a suggestion he made last week, or of offering amnesty to guerrilla fighters in exchange for a laying down of their arms.

Still, Dr. Allawi used the occasion of his inauguration to deliver a stern warning to the insurgents, promising to expend all of the government's energy to hunting them down and wiping them out. He urged the Iraqi people to stand up to the "outlaws" who were attacking "Islam and Muslims," assuring them that "God is with us."

"I warn the forces of terror once again," Dr. Allawi said. "We will not forget who stood with us against us in our national crisis."

[Rspaight]

Things should be interesting...

Bush voices support for an Iraqi martial law declaration

Susan Sachs NYT

Tuesday, June 29, 2004
ISTANBUL President George W. Bush said Monday that coalition forces in Iraq would support a possible decision by the new Iraqi leadership to declare martial law to deal with escalating violence and terror attacks.

"Iraqis know what we know, that the best way to defend yourself is to go on the offensive," he said, speaking at a news conference with Prime Minister Tony Blair of Britain.

The two leaders, the main proponents of the invasion of Iraq, acknowledged that they had yet to persuade many of their critics that the war was justified.

But Blair said the transfer of sovereignty to Iraqis on Monday demonstrated their commitment to fostering democracy in Iraq, not just ridding the country of a dictator and then occupying the country.

"From now on," he said, "the coalition changes. We are there in support of the Iraqi government and the Iraqi people." Iraq's new prime minister, Iyad Allawi, and other Iraqi leaders have said they are considering stringent measures, including the imposition of martial law, to establish a modicum of order in Iraq and gain credibility with the Iraqi public, whose main complaint during the 14-month occupation has been a lack of security. Bush and Blair pledged continuing military support for the new Iraqi government, saying their soldiers would help protect public property and provide security for elections next year.

Under the terms of a UN Security Council resolution passed this month, the multinational force now in Iraq will remain under U.S. command but work in coordination with Iraq's government. NATO heads of state meeting in Istanbul on Monday also offered to help train Iraqi security forces. Bush said the Iraqi leadership faced extraordinary security challenges that might require tough temporary measures. In particular, he cited Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, a Jordanian blamed for organizing a series of devastating bombings as well as the kidnapping and beheadings of foreigners in Iraq. An American marine, Corporal Wassef Ali Hassoun, disappeared June 21 near Falluja and is believed to be in the hands of Zarqawi allies, who have threatened to kill him. Zarqawi allies are also believed to be holding a Pakistani and three Turks.

"Prime Minister Allawi, as head of a sovereign government, may decide he has to take tough measures to deal with a brutal cold-blooded killer," Bush said, in a reference to Zarqawi. "Our job is to help." Bush spoke eight hours after the surprise handover of power to the interim Iraqi government in Baghdad, which came two days ahead of schedule out of security concerns.

The transfer of sovereignty was moved up from June 30 in response to the request of Allawi. A senior administration official, speaking on condition of anonymity in a briefing for reporters, said the idea had been discussed in Baghdad and Washington for about one week. Allawi had told the administration that Monday would be "the right day," the official added, and the final decision to go ahead with an early handover was made late Sunday.

He said that Allawi had informed L. Paul Bremer 3rd, the occupation administrator in Iraq, and that Bremer had notified Bush and his aides, who arrived in Istanbul on Saturday night.

Bush said he was convinced that the Iraqis were ready and able to take charge of their own affairs. "Last Friday, we handed over the final ministry to the Iraqi government, so, in other words, we have been making a transfer of sovereignty all along," Bush said. "The final decision was made by Prime Minister Allawi. He thought it would strengthen his hand. I thought it was a smart thing to do, primarily because the prime minister was ready for it." He went on to praise Allawi and the interim Iraqi president, Ghazi al-Yawar, as strong leaders who had shown that they were ready for independence. "They're gutsy, courageous and, as they say in Texas, they're stand-up guys," he said. "They'll lead. They'll lead their people to a better day."

The New York Times

[Rspaight]

From Gwen Ifill on Meet The Press yesterday:

What the Bush administration obviously wants to do--I talked to Condoleezza Rice this week, and one of the things--you can hear their line where they're talking about what's happening in the future. They're spinning everything forward, past this turning point on Wednesday with the hand-over, when at the very least they're hoping people won't be asking them the questions when things go wrong. That's the very least they can hope.

Passing the buck...

Ryan

[Rspaight]

Prisoner 27075 learns limits of sovereignty
By Nicolas Pelham in Baghdad
Published: June 28 2004 19:57 | Last Updated: June 28 2004 19:57

Iyad Akmush Kanum, 23, learnt the limits of sovereignty on Monday when US prosecutors refused to uphold an Iraqi judges' order acquitting him of attempted murder of coalition troops.

US prosecutors said that he was being returned to the controversial Abu Ghraib prison because under the Geneva Conventions they were not bound by Iraqi law.

A few hundred metres from where outgoing administrator Paul Bremer formally ended the US occupation of Iraq on Monday, Mr Kanum - prisoner number 27075 - cowered handcuffed on a backroom floor in the Central Criminal Court, where Iraqis are tried for attacks against coalition forces.

"Iraqis who have been detained as a security threat can still be detained until firstly the coalition leaves or secondly they are considered to be no longer a threat," said Michael Frank, deputy special prosecutor for Multinational Force-Iraq (MNFI), who oversaw the case dressed in military fatigues.

The prosecution alleges Mr Kanum was in the car from which a gunman was firing an AK-47 rifle at Iraqi and coalition troops on the outskirts of Baghdad. Mr Kanum denies the charges, saying it was a case of mistaken identity.

The Central Criminal Court is a hybrid legal institution, created by the American-led occupation, in which US lawyers prepare cases for Iraqi prosecutors to present to Iraqi judges, who were in turn chosen by the coalition.

It tries cases based on Iraqi law and coalition decrees.

Despite the end of the US occupation on Monday, US prosecutors said the Court would continue unchanged after the handover.

It was created by Mr Bremer last June to hear "significant security trials" and enable occupation troops to testify without leaving the Green Zone. Saddam Hussein is among the detainees intended to enter its dock.

Many Iraqis see the Central Criminal Court as a creature of the occupation which must be abolished now the US has handed sovereignty back to Iraqis.

Faisal Estrabadi, an Iraqi lawyer, said yesterday after the refusal to release Mr Kanum: "If the Iraqi courts have acquitted an individual he must be released. Anything else is a violation of sovereignty."

"Iraq cannot be one large Guantánamo Bay."

He added: "The Geneva Conventions no longer apply as of 10.26 this morning. Under UN Resolution the occupation has ended and the laws of war no longer apply."

However Mr Frank said the measures were necessary because judges and prosecutors were reluctant to sentence Iraqis for attacking coalition forces.

Another prosecutor, Maher Soliman, an Egyptian-born US attorney, also expressed frustration.

"We could have established our own military court and sentenced them the way we see fit," he said. "We didn't want to do that. We wanted Iraqis to run the court." Mr Soliman was initially contracted as an interrogator at Abu Ghraib jail.

Under laws introduced by the coalition, possessing illegal weapons carries a minimum sentence of 30 years and maximum of life imprisonment, but Iraqi judges routinely sentenced detainees to only six months, they said. "We have the feeling they're not putting their heart into it," said Mr Frank.

The court also sparked recent controversy after it was used to issue arrest warrants for rebel cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, and 15 members of Ahmed Chalabi's Iraq National Congress, on charges including fraud and kidnapping. Last week the court issued an arrest warrant for another member of the Governing Council, Karim Mohammedawi, after he expressed support for Mr Sadr.