Return of Sovereignty Means 'Hopeful Day' for Iraq

By Jim Garamone
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, June 28, 2004 – The dedication and sacrifice of the U.S. military "has brought us to this hopeful day" of post-Saddam Hussein Iraq becoming a sovereign nation, President Bush said today during a short speech in Istanbul, Turkey, where he is attending the NATO Summit.

Sovereignty transferred to the interim Iraqi government from the Coalition Provisional Authority, which has run the country for 14 months, two days ahead of schedule in a brief ceremony today.

Bush said this is a day "of great hope for Iraqis, and a day that terrorist enemies hoped never to see."

The president said the battle for Iraq is the front line of the war on terrorism. He stressed that the return of sovereignty is a major step along the road to democracy and freedom in Iraq, and that Iraq can serve as an example to the rest of the world.

White House officials said Iraqi Prime Minister Iyad Allawi asked for the date to be pushed up from June 30. Authorities said this shows the interim Iraqi government is strong enough to take the reins of government and ready for the challenges that lie ahead.

Bush said terrorist attacks against coalition forces and the Iraqi government have been aimed at preventing the return of sovereignty. "The terrorists are doing all they can to stop the rise of a free Iraq, but their bombs and attacks have not prevented Iraqi sovereignty, and they will not prevent Iraqi democracy," the president said.

He said the return of sovereignty is a tribute to the will of the Iraqi people, and a moral victory for the coalition in Iraq. "We pledged to end a dangerous regime, to free the oppressed and to restore sovereignty," Bush said. "We have kept our word."

Iraq still faces many challenges, Bush said, but it has come a long way from the Saddam's regime of terror, murder, oppression and savagery.

The president thanked the men and women of the American military. "From the first hours of Operation Iraqi Freedom and to this very hour, America's men and women in uniform have been unrelenting in the performance of their duty," he said.

Bush said the "courage of our military has brought us to this hopeful day, and the continued service of our military assures us of the success of our cause."

America is in Iraq fighting for liberty Bush said, "and liberty is always worth fighting for." He said the coalition is working to further the cause of peace in the region by promoting progress and hope in the Middle East. He said this is the alternative to stagnation, hatred and violence-for-export.

He said the coalition forces will help Iraq as it moves toward democracy. In conjunction with the Iraqi government, "we are moving forward with every element of our five-part plan for Iraqi self-government."

Iraq's interim government – endorsed by the United Nations – has gained broad international support. U.S. and coalition partners are training Iraqi security forces to assume the defense of their own country. "We appreciate NATO's decision to approve Prime Minister Allawi's request for assistance in training the Iraqi security forces," Bush said.

Bush said that as the allies train Iraqi security forces, they will help those forces find and destroy the killers who have plagued the country. The allied forces will protect infrastructure from attacks, and will provide security for the upcoming elections, he added.

"Operating in a sovereign nation, our military will act in close consultation with the Iraqi government," Bush said. But coalition forces will remain under coalition command.

"Our military will stay as long as the stability of Iraq requires, and only as long as their presence is needed and requested by the Iraqi government," the president said.

"All this progress is being attacked by foreign terrorists and the thugs from the fallen regime," Bush said. "Terrorists know they face defeat unless they break the spirit and commitment of the civilized world. The civilized world will not be frightened or intimidated."

Bush said the allies recognize that ultimately the struggle in Iraq belongs to the Iraqis. Allawi said his people are prepared to fight and if necessary die for these objectives. "America, Great Britain and the coalition respect that spirit, and the Iraqi people will not stand alone," Bush said.

Hammorabi
http://hammorabi.blogspot.com/

The handover of power completed in an official ceremony in Baghdad two days before the expected date.

Paul Bremer handed the official papers to the new interim Iraqi PM including a letter from President George W Bush about resuming the dipolmatic relationship between the two countries. This indicates that the Iraqis are indeed ready to take over.

The handover is a surprise for the enemies of the free and democratic Iraq. The terrorist may have been planned a major attack on the 30 July 2004. The earlier handover may have been aborted such an action.

Good luck for Iraq and the civilized people the friends of Iraq.

God bless Iraq and America and their friends and allies.

More details later especially about what the Arab Media said?!

THE MESOPOTAMIAN
TO BRING ONE MORE IRAQI VOICE OF THE SILENT MAJORITY TO THE ATTENTION OF THE WORLD
http://messopotamian.blogspot.com/

Saturday, June 26, 2004
WE SHALL OVERCOME
IN THE NAME OF GOD THE COMPASSIONATE THE MERCIFUL

Hi Friends,

God knows that it does not please me leaving you for such a long time. Next to prayer and communion with the Lord, this cybernetic communication with friends far away in distance but near to the heart has become a necessity and highly therapeutic in these most trying times. Thoughts and feelings swarm and trouble the mind and heart and cry out for release and expression, and there are so many things that one does not know where to start.

But you know, there is this thing about knowing what is right or wrong. I don’t know if you experience the same kind of sensation. For me this feeling seems to come from the guts, I mean almost from the stomach. For example, I think it was in June of 2003 just over one month after the liberation, when three decisions were declared by the CPA under the then recent directorship of Mr. Bremmer. These decisions were about the surrender of illegal arms, and the dissolution of the Ministries of Defense and Interior. I was sitting in the Kitchen of my house and heard the proclamations on the radio, with the noise of our small electricity generator in the background. I remember that I experienced this cold sinking feeling that I am talking about. Not that these decisions were unjustified in principle, but that their practical implementation seemed fraught with problems. To start with, the conception that the populace were going to queue up politely with their weapons and hand them over the counter was so unrealistic that any Iraqi would have told you that the chances of that happening was almost nil. Nor did the Coalition forces have any effective means of enforcing that decree. Our Imam Ali (PBU), who was a very wise man once said: “ If you wish to be obeyed, make sure that your orders can be obeyed” (bad translation). Once an order is allowed to be ignored, the authority of the Ruler is compromised, and the emboldening of the unruly will start. The Army and security forces were actually disbanded and everyone had gone home. There was no need for the official decree; besides there were so many opposition officers who could have reorganized the armed forces and purged them of undesirables. Most would have come back then, and on the terms of the new order and were actually begging for that, whereas now they are being begged to come back and almost on their own terms. All these thoughts flashed through my mind almost at once, and a cold hand gripped my heart. It was a foreboding, fear of jeopardizing the great enterprise. Other mistakes followed.

But we don’t want to dwell on that. For there is another feeling that comes also from the guts: that the thing is right, that the liberation is real, and necessary and preordained by Providence. Salvation is to come through pain and tremendous suffering, like that of Jesus (PBU). And now we shall go through hell for it and gladly. There is no turning back. If the terrorist, obsessed by the devil is willing to explode himself to kill the innocent; we, filled with the light of Love and the Love of light are even more capable of sacrifice. It is at these extreme times that one can begin to understand the true meaning of such profound messages as that of Salvation through suffering. Yes, we shall bear our cross, like Jesus, for the salvation of generations to come.

Come rain, come tempest, descend fog and darkness, We Shall Overcome. The Devil is going to be defeated again, as usual, by the very evil of his machinations.

And the enemy is desperate, he is striking left and right, beheading, slaughtering, murdering; blind with the rage of the wounded dying beast. And we have seen them, Egyptians, Syrians, Palestinians, Jordanians, our “Brothers”, running amok in our streets, murdering our men, women and children, and for what? What are they trying to achieve? And the whole lot of lying hypocrites, shedding crocodile tears about the “Iraqi People”, it is they who should get out and shut up. That is the invasion and occupation that we want to be rid of.

But We Shall Overcome; have no doubt about that. This, more than anything else, I know with every fiber of my being. And praise be to Allah, and thank you America.

Salaam

# posted by Alaa : 2:03 PM

...we don’t want to dwell on that. For there is another feeling that comes also from the guts: that the thing is right, that the liberation is real, and necessary and preordained by Providence. Salvation is to come through pain and tremendous suffering, like that of Jesus (PBU). And now we shall go through hell for it and gladly. There is no turning back. If the terrorist, obsessed by the devil is willing to explode himself to kill the innocent; we, filled with the light of Love and the Love of light are even more capable of sacrifice. It is at these extreme times that one can begin to understand the true meaning of such profound messages as that of Salvation through suffering. Yes, we shall bear our cross, like Jesus, for the salvation of generations to come.

This is so beautiful. If you choose to post it as a separate thread on this special day, please ping me.

Making your post a separate link for my homepage, no matter.

God bless this faithful Iraqi blogger. Truth from the guts, AMEN.

((Hugs))

"In a surprising move, sovereignty was handed-over to Iraqis, in a brilliant timing that interrupted the plans of the terrorists.
I couldn’t find myself but going out, taking some pictures and asking people about their feelings and anticipations regarding this great day.

Baghdad seemed quiet calm moreover this morning was even more peaceful than the last couple of days (at least till now).
Streets are void of any sign reflecting that a great and important event for Iraq and the region has just took place.
I’ve noticed that most people I met in the streets were delighted by this news and I saw a lot of optimism on their faces.
Some were sorry for the sudden depart of Abu Haider (Mr. Bremer) while I actually believe that he deserves a long vacation after his hard and long journey taking care of Iraq in this critical period.
During my ride there was no evidence of any presence for the coalition forces except for some helicopters watching from above.
“What happened was great, and the timing was so right” as described by many Iraqis.
It’s a painful strike for terrorism and their allies."

posted by Omar @ 19:48 IRAQ THE MODEL
http://iraqthemodel.blogspot.com/

Another:
Monday, June 28, 2004
To whom who concern.
Great moments ,great time ,here in Iraq , The transfer of power to Iraq sovereignty has been completed 2 days in advance ,this was ,a great news for the Iraqis .
From this moment we started to celebrate ,and people ,all over here conciliation each other ,this is a great moments ,I resaved calls from all over the world greeting me for this happy moments .
Thank you Mr. . primmer ,for being great president for Iraq all this time, Thank you for great job you did for Iraq ,we will never forget you , you will be always in our minds and harts.
Thank you united state of America for your great Job you done here .
Thank you coalitions forces for you brave work and supporting good.
Thank you all Brave mans ,who lost there life here ,your bloods will be the river of hope for us .
Thank you all good friends out there ,thank you for being with us all the way , minute by minute ,day by day ,living our sadness and happiness ,standing beside us ,encouraging us
Supporting us ,worry about us ,we always felt that you are there beside us ,with us .
Thank you all brave Iraqis who stand out there to fight for better future and freedom.
I will go now to celebrate with all people for this happy moments ,it has been long time since we celebrate .
Bye for now .

link posted by sarmad zangna at 2:57 PM Comments (27)
http://www.roadofanation.com/blog/

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.