TT: Freedom didn't reign

The United States yesterday went through with the sham of appearing to transfer sovereignty to Iraq, two days before the long promoted June 30 deadline. The reason advanced for the bringing forward of the handover was that disruption of the transfer ceremony had been planned by insurgents. The abrupt bringing forward of the date had been designed partly as a move to pre empt plans by groups opposed to the governing council. The make-believe Iraqi government is being offered up by the United States as in control of Iraq subject to any emergency situations created by rebel groups. As an added precaution, the ceremony which was covered by major international television networks was held at an undisclosed location.
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Regardless of what Prime Minister Allawi’s administration may believe and/or offer for domestic and international consumption, theirs is a puppet government with neither constitutional nor moral authority. At best yesterday’s handover of sovereignty has qualified for the award of the farce of the year if not of the century. In turn, for yesterday’s installed government to work with the United States and Britain while seeking to assure the Iraqi people that it indeed has moral authority to even exist, it will have to walk a diplomatically correct tightrope. Time will tell if this will be possible.

Sigh.