Foreign Press Reacts to Transfer of Sovereignty in Iraq

As the sovereignty handover in Iraq comes to a close, nations in the international community are offering immediate following actions, including restoring diplomatic ties with Iraq that had been suspended during the rule of Saddam Hussein.

While nations in the world are in general reacting positively to the transfer of sovereignty, they offer the cautious opinion that the future is still opaque, due to the piles of tasks left for the new government.

--“The international community should help Iraq”

Messages of cooperation and commitments to help the new Iraqi government are rushing in from everywhere.

The United Nations Security Council released a statement saying, “All the nations and the international organizations should help the Iraqi government.” UN Secretary General Kofi Annan said that “the United Nations will do everything possible.”

The European Union is establishing its delegation headquarters in Baghdad immediately and has launched efforts to find ways to support the general election in Iraq scheduled for early next year.

U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage explained, “With the handover, the State Department instead of the Department of Defense will play an important role in policies toward Iraq now.”

--Still in the fog

The Financial Times in Britain commented that whether or not European powers such as France would be supportive is a crucial variable in stabilizing Iraqi situation, saying, “The new ship named Iraq needs more passengers.”

John Kerry, the Democratic candidate in the U.S. presidential election, said that the safety issue is the most important if the handover of sovereignty is to succeed, and that there is a desperate need for the allies’ support.

The Iranian and the Turkish governments pointed out that “it is important that the international community support Iraq in holding next year’s election as scheduled.”

The Internet edition of the Washington Post pointed out on Tuesday, “If Prime Minister Iyad Allawi fails to control the violent situation, Iraq will be thrown into a swirl of civil wars and division.”

The U.S. weekly magazine Time reported on Monday that “new situations are unfolding, but the U.S. is not receiving support from the international community and doing a war on its own.”

--A political gamble

The Los Angeles Times said in a Monday article entitled “Handover Is Political Gamble for Bush” that the handover of authority to an interim Iraqi government may offer President Bush his best opportunity to rebuild public confidence, but that it also risks accelerating the disillusionment of U.S. citizens if the new government does not establish legitimacy.

“There is risk and there is opportunity for Bush in the handover, and it is one of the most important events in the U.S. Presidential election,” said Andy Kohut, director of the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press, a professional public opinion survey organization.

“The administration is gambling on a vague notion, despite the field is blowing up," criticized Ivo Daalder, a senior fellow in foreign policy studies at the Brookings Institution.

Dong-Won Kim daviskim@donga.com