The Detroit News I Tuesday, June 29, 2004 OPINIONS

Early power transfer puts focus on Iraq's futureHanding over sovereignty to Iraqis two days early helps avoid a terrorist attack

but experts disagree about whether it aids the country's long-term chances for stabilityThe following are solicited com-

ments and excerpts from The DetroitNews' syndicated writers and othersabout Monday's transfer of power fromthe U.S.-led coalition forces to the Iraqileadership that took place two daysbefore a scheduled June 3o deadline:

♦ ♦ ♦Danielle Pletka, vice president

of foreign and defense policy stud-ies, American Enterprise Institutefor Public Policy Research in Wash-ington, D.C.: In reality, the Americanhand-off occurred several weeks ago;the June 3oth date was an arbitrarydeadline more interesting to publicity-hungry terrorists than to normalIraqis. For Iraqis longing to be led byone of their own, the elevation ofPrime Minister Ayad Allawi a monthago was the real date of liberation.

As far as the terrorists are con-cerned, the transfer will do little tosate their appetite for killing. On theother hand, it will make manifest tothe Iraqi people that they, and not thecoalition, are the real targets. In time,that will constrict the operating envi-ronment for the killers, improve intel-ligence and enable Iraqi and coalitionforces to secure Iraq's future.

♦Juan Cole, University of Michi-

gan history professor: Paul Bremersuddenly left Iraq on Monday, having"transferred sovereignty" to the care-taker Iraqi government two days ear-ly. It is hard to interpret this move asanything but a precipitous flight.Since the U.S. military is so weak inIraq and appears to have poor intelli-gence on the guerrilla insurgency, theBush administration could not takethe chance that a major bombing orother attack would mar the ceremony.

This exercise is a publicity stuntwith almost no substance to it. PBS'Gwen Ifill said Sunday that she hadtalked to National Security AdviserCondaleeza Rice, and that her hopewas that when something went wrongin Iraq, the journalists would now grillIraqi Prime Minister Iyad Allawi aboutit rather than the Bush administration.

♦ ♦ ♦Daniel Pipes, Middle East

Forum i n Philadelphia: Whatchanged in Iraq in late June zooq.?Asked that question, L. Paul Bremer,the top U.S. administrator in Iraq,gave this stunning reply back in Feb-ruary: The Coalition ProvisionalAuthority will go out of existence, hesaid, "Büt it's very important to stress

David Guttenfelder / Associated PressIraqi President Ghazi Al-Yawer, left is sworn into office as Vice President Ibrahim Al-Jaafari, Prime Min-ister Iyad Allawi and Deputy Prime Minister Barham Salih look on Monday in Baghdad, Iraq.

that that's about all that changes.There will be the world's largestembassy here. We will have more thantoo,000 troops here. The embassywill be responsible for overseeing thespending of si8.6 billion.... The onlything really that changes is that I leaveand will be replaced by an Americanambassador to the mission."

Bremer candidly summed thingsup: The transfer of power is moresymbolic than real and will only light-ly affect the evolution of post-SaddamHussein Iraq.

♦ ♦ ♦Tarik Daoud, Iraqi-American,

president of Al Long Inc. in Warrenand a member of The Detroit NewsEditorial Page Advisory Panel: Idon't think anybody anticipated thehand-over of power would come twodays early, which was pure genius. Letthe Iraqis govern their own country. Ihave two sisters back in Iraq, one inBaghdad and one in Basra, and theysaid, "Let's see what we can do for our-selves." I think it's a great start for acountry that should be democraticwith a great passion for freedom.

♦ ♦ ♦Jay Ambrose, Scripps Howard

News Service: It was smart — a soundtactic — for the United States to transfersovereignty to Iraqis two days before theofficially announced plan. Insurgents

were thus caught off guard, although itscarcely follows that they will now laydown their arms and follow the newindigenous leadership like little lambs.

Killings will continue. But don'tsuppose, at least not yet, that the newgovernment will prove ineffectual infighting back, or that the U.S. forceswill become inadequately aggressiveor that there will not be meaningfulinternational assistance in trainingIraqis to maintain internal security.

♦ ♦ ♦Spencer Ackerman, The New

Republic Online: So this is how the for-mal part of disastrous occupations end:with an unexpected, premature whim-per, to deny insurgents a bang. Twodays ahead of schedule, in what theWashington Post described as a "hasti-ly arranged ceremony," the U.S. formal-ly transferred sovereignty to IyadAllawi's interim Iraqi government.There is no more Coalition ProvisionalAuthority Occupation chief Paul Bre-mer has already left the country, surelyrelieved to have gotten out with his life.

• * •Frida Ghitis, a former CNN

reporter and current world affairswriter in Georgia: The stealth cere-mony represented an acknowledge-ment that events in Iraq have not goneaccording to Washington's plan. Andyet, promising signs are rising from the

smoldering soil of a turbulent Iraq.A poll commissioned by the United

States shows more than two-thirds ofIraqis support their new leaders — anextraordinary number given the coun-try's deep ethnic divisions. Eighty per-cent of Iraqis say they expect the newgovernment will make things betterfor them. A separate poll conductedthree months ago by Oxford ResearchInternational showed more than 70percent of Iraqis expect life to becomebetter in the year ahead.

• • •Chris Preble, director of for-

eign policy studies at Cato Insti-tute in Washington, D.C.: .Thehand-over of limited political sover-eignty to the interim Iraqi govern-ment is largely symbolic, but it will bean important symbol if it is seen asthe first step toward ending the U.S.military occupation in the country.Unfortunately, nearly tp,000 Amer-ican troops remain in Iraq, and thereare no plans for their removal.

The presence o f these troopsundermines the legitimacy of the newgovernment and opposition to theoccupation becomes a rallying cryfor insurgents and terrorists. There-fore, the Bush administration shouldfollow the sensible decision to trans-fer political sovereignty with a formalplan for withdrawing the U.S. forces.