Iraqi transfer

The Times (London)

Grand promises are not in order, even though there is still room for grander vision in the long term. Iraqis know that June 30 cannot bring a wholesale transfer of sovereignty, but they need to feel that the date will mark a material shift towards a national government.

The draft resolution presented to the U.N. Security Council ... left some important details to be decided until the caretaker government is named at the end of this month. But it clearly reflects the U.S. determination to make good on its word in encouraging Iraqis to take responsibility for themselves as soon as possible. ...

Agreement may yet be scuppered by French and German insistence on a date for military withdrawal. But experience in Somalia and elsewhere suggests that leaving too soon would reap more certain disaster than staying too long. Setting a fixed date could be a gift for those who want to see democracy fail. ...