The timing of the transfer of power to the new Iraqi interim government on June 28, in lieu of the "officially" scheduled date of June 30, caught everyone by surprise, not least of all the Iraqi press and the international media. The termination of occupation was treated with a little fanfare in the streets of Iraq, both because of the surprising timing and because of the preoccupation of people with the security situation. Two reporters from the London Arabic daily Al-Sharq Al-Awsat toured the streets and residential quarters of the capital and had this to say about the historic event:
"The city looked very calm with active movements in its streets and markets… Watching on the Iraqi television the ceremonies of the transfer of authority was surprising but it was undoubtedly 'a master's stroke.' In recent days Baghdad was replete with rumors intended to frighten the people that the so-called 'resistance' would initiate a series of explosions and attacks meant to take over the ministries and the banks. But Baghdad responded to the rumors by keeping its calm and carrying on with its normal life." [1]
The following is a compilation of Iraqi media reactions to the transfer of sovereignty:
Editorials from the Iraqi Press
'A Cold Celebration on a Hot Day'
Editorializing under the above title, the independent daily Al-Mada, whose publisher Fakhri Karim was selected to join the 100-member supreme commission entrusted with the selection of the political body that will be responsible for preparing the elections, talked about the hand-over ceremony and said: "symbolically the ceremony was not commensurate with [the] enormous price that the Iraqis paid during 25 years of a rule by a single party and a single ruler, of a regime of mass graves and a year, three months, and 20 days of occupation and chaos that set the stage for looting, thefts, booby-trapped cars, abductions, and murders of Iraqi citizens; days that reverberated of decades gone by and futile aspirations, while the Iraqis never gave up hope for a better time…
The Iraqis do not expect the situation to change overnight and they do not expect their sovereignty to be whole from the start. It is a self-test as much as it is a test to the commitment of the occupiers to a complete hand-over of the sovereignty and a test of the government's efficacy to deal with the long battle [that awaits it]…" [2]
Doubts About the Transfer and a Warning to Neighbors
In an editorial titled "Taking Sovereignty in Public and Restoring it in Secrecy," the daily Al-Zaman, one of the highly respected Iraqi dailies with liberal roots going back to the 1940s, and currently being published simultaneously in London and Baghdad, wrote:
"Suddenly, and after a series of misleading information to the people, a symbolic process for the transfer of authority has taken place. The nature of the transfer and its style of secrecy and its premature timing without a prior notice embodies the situation as it is. The glitter that was supposed to shine at the long-awaited event was drenched by the blood of the Iraqis, the destruction of their institutions and the breaking up of their living order. It appears that carrying out the event behind closed doors and the absence of any manifestation of jubilation was deliberate.
It was a clear and simple message to the Iraqis that the transfer of authority is not a magic opportunity in which the situation will change in a profound way… It is incumbent on the Iraqis to realize in an unadulterated manner that this day does not concern the Iraqis as much as its concerns the American administration acting under the pressure of the presidential elections season and its aftermath, which will not be reflected in major changes in the concept and content of the control of Iraq.
"… The capture of the authority fully is a political action that requires efforts and sacrifices, a lot of patience and wisdom and understanding of the regional and international circumstances. It is important to underscore the fact that what happened [on that day in June] should not plant the illusion that it is a magic event in which the ailing of Iraq and its people will come to an end."
The editorial turns its attention to forces outside Iraq which has been recently a common theme in many Iraqi dailies. It offers the following observation:
"Many powers have joined hands against Iraq, some are local and some are in the hateful and repulsive neighboring countries which have weakened this country and sought to weaken it for decades to come so that it will be the most emaciated body in this region… Iraqis must recognize the depth of this danger and mobilize their national drives to expel those foreigners who have come across the border and round up the murderers who spread civil strife inside the country." [3]
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Elections Alone Can Restore Real, not Legalistic, Authority
Under the title "Sovereignty…Authority!" the daily Al-Sabah, which was associated with the former Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA), wrote:
"Advancing the date of the transfer of sovereignty to Monday [June 28] from Wednesday was a security master's stroke. Advancing the date has pre-empted plans that terrorist groups have certainly sought to carry out to spread confusion, disturbances, and acts of sabotage.
"Frankly, 'sovereignty' has been 'legalistically' restored to the Iraqi state. This restoration could perhaps be bolstered by a new resolution by the Security Council in addition to [diplomatic] recognitions by other countries and the resumption of their diplomatic relations with the Iraqi state.
"From a practical and realistic point of view, the Iraqi authority which has received the sovereignty enjoys limited powers or, let us say, there are restrictions on some of its jurisdictions. Some of these restrictions were imposed by the recent resolution of the Security Council. Others exist by virtue of the presence of the multinational military force which is not subject to Iraqi authority. Others [restrictions] stem from the meaning of the ambiguous and unbalanced concept of 'security partnership.'"
The former Coalition Provisional Authority has restored sovereignty to the Iraqi state through letters and officials documents. But the restoration of authority to the Iraqi people depends on carrying out general elections. General elections are the only known path to restore power to the people. [4]
The Transfer of Power and the Democratic Process
One day prior to the transfer of power in Iraq, the independent daily Al-Mada published an editorial by Sa'id Abd Al-Hadi that underscores the merits of the new government: "The present government, despite its imperfection - and there is no perfection as long as human beings inherit the earth - will be devoid of illiterates who had wreaked havoc for three decades… It is composed of individuals who had paid [a] considerable price to free Iraq from despotism … and of technocrats who had worked in international research organizations.
We do not mean to embellish the picture, but to depict a reality which reflects the great chasm between the Ba'thist governments [in the past] and the first government that follows the fall of the Ba'th party and the end of occupation… The only thing that we should do now is to give up [the habit of] applauding and hailing imaginary accomplishments…"
Talking about the difficult task of ending the terror and insurgency that the new government faces, the paper continued: "Every citizen who wants to live in peace should stand by it. We should unite our efforts to restore stability … and stop talking about possible failures and increased terrorism… [Because] they are negative attitudes that will further fragmentation and make us the target of greater conspiracies to undermine this [democratic] experiment that will be problematic to many despotic regimes…" [5]
We Harvested the Apple of Sovereignty Prematurely
Al-Sharq daily, of unknown pedigree, equated the transfer of power to apple-picking, and said that although the time was not ripe:
"The important thing is that we picked the apple, regardless of its size, taste, cleanliness, or whether it will provide us with the necessary calories to go the distance, fight malaise, and face the consequences… This apple will be the target of voracious appetites, because there are those who are ready to die in order to get it… There are 'devils' who covet the apple, others who salivate over it, and yet others who consider it rotten. So, whom should our government fight, and with whom should it negotiate?"
The paper goes on to emphasize that it is incumbent upon the new Iraqi leadership to prove that "the apple is Iraqi, that the apple tree was planted in Iraqi soil and watered with Iraqi water, and that it was picked with Iraqi hands with labor and sweat, sacrifices, blood, and perseverance…" [6]
One Good Word for the Occupation
The editor of the independent daily Al-Furat, Shaker Al-Jabbouri wrote:
"… From a theoretical perspective, the problem of occupation in Iraq has come to an end. It is now within the ability of the new decision-makers to intensify the work in all the transparency and without the need for a green light from here or there. This raises a very important question about the concern for the internal affairs which suffers from everything, including the complex structure of the Iraqi personality."
Jabbouri has a good word to say about the occupation in that it has brought to an end "the age of authoritarianism and the dictatorship of individuals and families." [7]
