Early transfer of Iraqi sovereignty driven by readiness, security
US official says Iraqi prime minister determined timing; Bush pleased

Producer: Rebecca Ford Mitchell, Washington File Staff Writer
First broadcast: 28 June 04, Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site:

Istanbul, Turkey: The unexpected turnover of Iraqi sovereignty on June 28, two days ahead of schedule, came at the request of Iraqi Prime Minister Iyad Allawi, who believed it would strengthen his hand against the terrorists and insurgents who are inflicting havoc on his country, a Bush administration official said.

Briefing on background June 28 at the NATO Summit, the spokesman said that Allawi had decided late Sunday afternoon that the new government was ready to take control and had so informed Ambassador Paul Bremer, the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) administrator, who then told President Bush. "The president was pleased with the news," the official said. "Our goal was to move as quickly as possible to move responsibility for day-to-day affairs to the Iraqi people. Today was the right day to do it."

Allawi's determination to fight his country's enemies and his eagerness to have Iraqis regain control over their government propelled him to move "at warp speed," the official said. The idea of an early transfer had been secretly under discussion for over a week, the official said, and the timing, based on the two driving factors of the readiness of the interim government and the effect on the security environment, was decided by Allawi.

"The prime minister is sending a powerful signal to the Iraqi people and to the terrorists," the official said. "Iraq is calling the shots".

The spokesman pointed to the horrific acts in recent days, "the bombings, killings and beheadings of innocent people", and said no action of the enemy will shake the resolve of the Iraqi government or those assisting them to succeed in bringing security to the Iraqi people. The Iraqi citizens must be confident of that, he said, because they are going to be among the critical foot soldiers in the battle against insurgents. "They are the ones who know what is happening at the end of their street, what is happening in their business, what is happening in the dark alleys behind their houses, or in their neighborhoods," he said.

The multinational forces will remain in Iraq to support Allawi in defending Iraq, but at the same time Iraqi security forces and intelligence services are getting better each day, he said. General Sanchez was aware of and fully supportive of the decision, as the Iraqi government and the mulitinational force are already working well together, he added.

Other members of the coalition in Iraq were informed of the decision before this morning's official announcement, the spokesman said, noting that the president expressed his appreciation to Bremer for his outstanding work and to members of the CPA for their sacrifices on behalf of the Iraqi people. Bremer, whose job is now officially done, has already left the country; Ambassador John Negroponte, who will lead the U.S. embassy in Baghdad, will be arriving in the next few days to present his credentials to the new Iraqi government, according to the official.

The spokesman said there was no expectation the early handover would have any effect on the discussion now under way at the NATO Summit in Istanbul. Training for Iraq security forces "was requested coming into NATO, and that is what it appears will come out of NATO, regardless of the day that sovereignty was handed over," he said.