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[kskiska]

A top aide to Bremer warned reporters a week ago that the transfer of political authority in Iraq would not resemble the British handover in Hong Kong in 1997, a multi-day affair replete with marching bands, honor guards and fireworks.

Even so, some Americans and Iraqis here were taken by surprise by Monday's lack of historical moment. To some Iraqis, it seemed as if Bremer had slighted them one final time by not making the handover into a grander gesture. To some Americans working for the CPA, it recalled to the departure of U.S. diplomats from Saigon in 1975.

"I knew there were big security concerns, but I figured that at the very least we'd have a ceremony with a few hundred Iraqis -- something that would be televised for the country to see," one American working for the CPA said. "This was embarrassing."

Another CPA staff member described Bremer's departure as a "tail-between-your-legs exit."