I was shocked that nobody got to this before... the CPA has handed power over to the Iraqi Government of Iyad Allawi. I think this is a very positive step in the right direction for Iraq and its people. The current issue facing this sovereign government is security. But I also heard rumors that Zarqawi has been captured... can anybody confirm that (maybe Oerdin would know..)?
BAGHDAD, Iraq - The U.S.-led coalition transferred sovereignty to an interim Iraqi government Monday, speeding up the move by two days in an apparent bid to surprise insurgents and prevent them from trying to sabotage the step toward self rule.
Militants had conducted a campaign of car bombings, kidnappings and other violence that killed hundreds of Iraqis in recent weeks and designed to disrupt the transfer that was announced by the Bush administration late last year. Intially the Americans were thought to have planned for about one more year of occupation.
Legal documents transferring sovereignty were handed over by U.S. governor L. Paul Bremer to chief justice Mahdi al-Mahmood in a small ceremony attended by about a half dozen Iraqi and coalition officials in the heavily guarded Green Zone. Bremer took charge in Iraq (news - web sites) about a year ago.
"This is a historical day," Interim Prime Minister Iyad Allawi said during the ceremony. "We feel we are capable of controlling the security situation."
Bremer left Iraq on a U.S. Air Force C-130 military plane about 12:30 p.m., said Robert Tappan, an official of the former coalition occupation authority. He was accompanied by coalition spokesman Dan Senor and close members of his staff.
Bremer's last moments in Iraq were spent in a meeting with Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez, the top American commander in the country. An aide to Bremer, speaking on condition of anonymity, declined to say where Bremer was headed, saying only that "he was going home."
BAGHDAD, Iraq - The U.S.-led coalition transferred sovereignty to an interim Iraqi government Monday, speeding up the move by two days in an apparent bid to surprise insurgents and prevent them from trying to sabotage the step toward self rule.
Militants had conducted a campaign of car bombings, kidnappings and other violence that killed hundreds of Iraqis in recent weeks and designed to disrupt the transfer that was announced by the Bush administration late last year. Intially the Americans were thought to have planned for about one more year of occupation.
Legal documents transferring sovereignty were handed over by U.S. governor L. Paul Bremer to chief justice Mahdi al-Mahmood in a small ceremony attended by about a half dozen Iraqi and coalition officials in the heavily guarded Green Zone. Bremer took charge in Iraq (news - web sites) about a year ago.
"This is a historical day," Interim Prime Minister Iyad Allawi said during the ceremony. "We feel we are capable of controlling the security situation."
Bremer left Iraq on a U.S. Air Force C-130 military plane about 12:30 p.m., said Robert Tappan, an official of the former coalition occupation authority. He was accompanied by coalition spokesman Dan Senor and close members of his staff.
Bremer's last moments in Iraq were spent in a meeting with Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez, the top American commander in the country. An aide to Bremer, speaking on condition of anonymity, declined to say where Bremer was headed, saying only that "he was going home."
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