The United Nations Security Council's vote to formally end the occupation of Iraq is a crucial step toward the restoration of sovereignty and stability in that troubled country. The decision is a milestone, but it is by no means a solution to Iraq's woes. In many ways, the real work begins now, with the handover of authority to an interim government in Baghdad on June 30. With the U.N. vote, "the U.S.-installed government" can no longer be cited as a politically convenient rationale for keeping Iraq at arm's length. All governments must now join the effort to rebuild Iraq and give its long-suffering citizens the freedoms they are due.
After two weeks of intense negotiations, the U.N. Security Council voted unanimously this week to endorse a "sovereign interim government" in Iraq. The vote removes stumbling blocks to national elections that will be held no later than Jan. 31, 2005; gives Baghdad control of its oil revenues; and calls on the U.N. to assist in the elections and the writing of a permanent constitution. The resolution also sets a Jan. 31, 2006, expiration date on the mandate of the international force helping to restore order in the country. Most significantly, it gives the Iraqi government the authority to order foreign troops out of the country at any time.
The latter provision was the most controversial. Even with the passing of sovereignty to an Iraqi government blessed by the U.N., a continuing U.S. troop presence in Iraq was a given; its relationship with that government was going to be problematic. The U.S. has long shown no inclination to subordinate its forces to foreign command: What would happen if U.S. forces undertook an operation that Baghdad opposed? Several countries, France and Germany among them, wanted the new government to have a veto; predictably, Washington disagreed. The final text, agreed after four rounds of revisions, stipulates that Baghdad has a say on "sensitive offensive operations." Iraqi President Ghazi al-Yawer, however, dismissed the possibility of any gap between the two countries on such questions. We hope he is right.