".....Haaaaaaaaaaaaaaa...!!! While "..Hairy BS Kerry..", Tawdry Teddy Kennedy, Bickerin' Joe Biden, Blustering Bobby ('Movin' D.C.-to-WV') Byrd, Sputterin' Al Sharpton, and the rest of the Demoncrat DemoCreeps are playing grab-ass in the Capitol toilet - the transfer of Sovereignity to Iraq has already taken place........
Maybe "..Hairy BS Kerry..." can reach out to the Mideast now - rather than looking for connections in South America with the Columbian cartels.....
Iraq Formally Returns to Self-Rule Two Days Early Mon Jun 28, 2004 09:45 AM ET By Alistair Lyon and Lin Noueihed
BAGHDAD (Reuters) - The United States handed sovereignty to an interim Iraqi government two days earlier than expected Monday, aiming to forestall guerrilla attacks with a secretive ceremony formally ending 14 months of occupation.
Iraq's outgoing U.S. governor Paul Bremer handed a letter to Iraq leaders sealing the formal transfer of powers before immediately flying out of the country.
The low-key ceremony was over before it was announced and came as a surprise to ordinary Iraqis. Its hurried and furtive nature appeared to reflect fears that guerrillas could stage a spectacular attack on the scheduled date of June 30.
At a second ceremony in the afternoon -- this time broadcast live on Iraqi television -- the government was sworn in and Prime Minister Iyad Allawi urged all Iraqis to stand together against foreign militants wreaking havoc in the country.
"I call on our people to stand united to expel the foreign terrorists who are killing our children and destroying our country," Allawi said, in comments broadcast around the world.
At the earlier ceremony, which formally transferred sovereignty at 10:26 a.m. (0626 GMT), President Ghazi Yawar hailed "a historic day, a happy day, a day that all Iraqis have been looking forward to."
President Bush quietly took note of the secret handover by checking his watch at a NATO summit in Istanbul and shaking hands with his closest war ally, British Prime Minister Tony Blair. The two exchanged knowing smiles and shook hands as they sat around a table listening to speeches.
U.S. and British officials say the handover is a key step on the path to democracy in Iraq, but one of the government's first actions as a sovereign power is expected to be the imposition of emergency laws, including curfews, to crack down on guerrillas.
U.S. officials attending the NATO summit admitted that thwarting a surge in attacks believed to be planned for the formal Wednesday handover date was a factor in the decision to advance it to Monday, which they said Allawi had requested.
"We have said all along that we believed that the terrorists on the ground were going to do everything they can to literally and figuratively blow up the handover of sovereignty," one said.
Such an attack could have damaged attempts by Bush, who faces a presidential election in November, to be seen to be starting to disengage from Iraq, where hundreds of U.S. soldiers have died since last year's invasion. Continued ...
reuters.com
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