What UN resolution on Iraq will accomplish (sovereignty by remote control)

[Khephra]

Passage will bring legitimacy to new Iraqi government, but measure is ambiguous enough that all sides can claim victory.

By Howard LaFranchi | Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor

WASHINGTON – The anticipated unanimous approval of a new United Nations resolution on Iraq will be touted by President Bush as a strong sign of global unity as he meets with world leaders at the G-8 summit in Georgia this week.

That will be good for the US, as it tries to broaden the international commitment to Iraq, and for Mr. Bush domestically, as he seeks to convince an anxious public that the prospect for burden sharing in Iraq is brightening. For Iraq, the resolution wraps a cloak of international legitimacy around the government that will take the reins of authority from the 14-month American occupation on June 30.

Yet even after several key revisions, the resolution remains ambiguous enough to allow both the United States and the so-called anti-war countries that remain wary of US intentions in Iraq to declare victory, experts say. At the same time, the lack of any real definition of a UN role in Iraq, along with continuing limits on the abilities of a new Iraqi government, mean the US will remain largely in charge.

"Opponents of the war aren't really pushing too hard because they don't want to bear responsibility for what happens in Iraq," says Lee Feinstein, a security expert at the Council on Foreign Relations in Washington. "At the same time, the ambiguities over authority and realistic limits on the Iraqis will force the US to play the lead role. It will be a kind of sovereignty by remote control."

more....................

http://www.csmonitor.com/2004/0609/p02s02-usfp.html

[Darranar]

1. The resolution legitimizes the occupation...

this "sovereign" government is composed of US puppets, and under their rule the military occupation will go as scheduled. And does anyone really think that Bush will care if he violates one of the statutes of this resolution?

It is also interesting that the deadline for "free" elections is 31 January 2005, incidently not long after Inauguration Day and somewhat distant from Election Day. This way, if Bush fails to even approach this point, it will be after the elections, and if Kerry wins, it can be blamed on him.