Iraq as a sovereign nation

The handover, as everyone knows, happened two days ahead of schedule. Many speculate this was to avoid wide spread attacks tomorrow. Others (including the White House) say it was a showing of how ready Iraq was to take on the responsibility. The important thing is to now watch for changes and how the U.S. lets the new Iraq exert its control.

Changes? Not yet.
Blast In Iraq Kills Three Marines: FOX News
US letting Iraq exert control? (Via Atrios)
Prisoner 27075 learns limits of sovereignty

Iyad Akmush Kanum, 23, learnt the limits of sovereignty on Monday when US prosecutors refused to uphold an Iraqi judges' order acquitting him of attempted murder of coalition troops.

Sounds like the turnover is going well.

I grant you turning authority over to the Iraqis is the logical thing to do. And I do not want to see Iraq fail as a nation in any way. These two stories however, serve as a reminder that all that we handed over yesterday was a piece of paper.

I know our President has said that violence would continue in Iraq. My feeling is the turnover occurred so it would not be our problem any more. The Marines that got killed? Not the U.S. problem, Iraq needs to control its country. The failure of a U.S. plan to improve the electric system above prewar levels? No longer our problem either. And imagine public outcry if the U.S. had imposed martial law in Iraq, in essence putting us and our forces back in control of the country. Well, even that may look bad for Allawi in the eyes of his citizens. However, it sounds like Allawi's first step in thwarting attacks, a step that would have looked imperialistic from our end.

The main political problem for Bush in America is that success will be in part measured when the approximately 140,000 troops return home seated in airplanes and on naval carriers and not in flag draped coffins in ones and twos. Stories today that we will be sending even more troops will not help that cause.

Perhaps the real reason for the quick transfer is summed up best by James Pinkerton over at Newsday.com:

So long as Hussein doesn't come back, so long as no weapons of mass destruction exist within its borders, Iraq, like Afghanistan before it - and like Haiti, Somalia and Vietnam before that - seems destined to drift out of our consciousness.

And we all know how well things are going in Afghanistan right? You can tell from the article entitled Hurry up with extra troops, pleads Karzai.