"Another Big Lie: The U.S. has NOT Transferred Sovereignty to the
Iraqis
by Jerry Gordon

Over the past couple of days, the Bush administration and the
occupation authorities have been trumpeting the claim that full
sovereignty has been transferred to Iraq. We say today that is a hoax
and a sham. The people of Iraq are still being subjected to a brutal,
repressive and colonial occupation. Nothing has happened since Monday
to change that. Just look at what is happening in Iraq today.

First, 160,000 foreign troops, nearly 140,000 of them U.S., are still
in Iraq and they are there against the will of the Iraqi people.
According to a poll conducted last month by the occupation authorities
themselves, only two percent of the Iraqi people consider those who
invaded their country to be "liberators." Other polls show the
overwhelming majority of Iraqis want foreign troops to leave their
country immediately. Yet the troops are still there. A country that is
occupied can never be free or independent or sovereign.

Second, Iraq's government was handpicked behind closed doors by
foreign occupiers. The Iraqi people had no part in the process. That
is hardly the hallmark of a sovereign state.

As you know, the U.S.'s choice for prime minister, CIA agent Allawi,
won out. No surprise there. And immediately after his selection, right
on cue, Allawi told the world how grateful Iraqis are for the U.S.
invasion, and how they want U.S. occupation forces to remain in the
country indefinitely. Also, on cue, Bush proclaimed triumphantly that
the Iraqi government has now spoken and that it welcomes the continued
presence of U.S. military forces in Iraq. And the media reports this
ridiculous charade with a straight face, as if the Allawi government
had all the legitimacy and credibility in the world. A puppet
government installed by the occupiers does not constitute sovereignty.

Third, although Iraq supposedly became a sovereign nation a couple
days ago, U.S. military forces remain free to conduct "operations"
against the insurgents. As Col. Abrams aid, "The Iraqis are not going
to cramp my style." So we ask: How many more military operations will
be ordered? How many more Iraqis will be killed and wounded? How many
more U.S. troops will be sent to their deaths or left severely
crippled? How much longer is this occupation going to last? The U.S.
is currently building 14 permanent military bases in Iraq, so the
intentions of the Bush administration have been made unmistakably
clear. Today we also make our intentions unmistakably clear: to
continue building a powerful antiwar movement to get U.S. troops out
of Iraq so that the people there can decide their own future.

Fourth, while Iraqis are permitted to be the front men in the oil
ministry, U.S. officials are running things. Sizable numbers of U.S.
auditors, inspectors, monitors, and other agents are on the scene to
make sure that Washington's policies get implemented.

Anyone who doubts that the U.S. intends to retain control of Iraq's
oil should be reminded of why the U.S. invaded Iraq in the first
place. It was a war of conquest for oil. After spending well over $100
billion toward that end and making clear that it is prepared to spend
hundreds of billions more, if necessary, the Bush administration and
its supporters have no intention of voluntarily relinquishing the U.S.
hold on Iraq's oil riches. They will give up control only if forced to
by the Iraqi people and the worldwide antiwar movement.

Fifth, Bremer decreed immunity for any crimes committed by U.S.
nationals, the British, and even the private contractors. That means
that no Iraqi government – puppet or otherwise – will be allowed to
touch them. Let's never forget that in those dreadful and depraved
prisons, Iraqis were not only tortured, abused, and humiliated -- some
were murdered. What kind of penalties will be meted out to those
responsible for the atrocities? The U.S. will decide. The Iraqis have
no say in the matter. General Myers, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of
Staff, said last Friday that the interim government that took power
Monday could not repeal Bremer's immunity order, one of 100 decrees he
left behind. So where is the sovereignty?

Sixth, some 5,000 Iraqi detainees will remain under U.S. control
indefinitely. Many of them were indiscriminately rounded up and have
never been charged with any offense. What right do the occupiers have
to hold them a single day after sovereignty was supposedly granted?

Seventh, the occupation authorities continue to exercise power over
all the other ministries in the new Iraqi government. Before he left
the country, Bremer appointed commissioners to serve five-year terms
and effectively take away the powers presumably turned over to the
newly selected Iraqi ministers. These appointments by Bremer make a
mockery of the claim of transfer of sovereignty.

Eighth, real power within Iraq is being transferred, not from the U.S.
to the Iraqis, but from Bremer to Negroponte, who will head up the
U.S. embassy there of 3,300 -- the most heavily staffed U.S. embassy
in the world. This is the same Negroponte who ran the Honduras embassy
during the Reagan years. That embassy was the nerve center for the
CIA-coordinated terror campaigns to overthrow Nicaragua's elected
government and prop up the El Salvador and Guatemala death squad
regimes. Now Negroponte will be running things in Iraq. The June 13
New York Times predicted that his embassy will become Iraq's "shadow
government," a far cry from a genuine transference of sovereignty.

Ninth, the $18 billion appropriated by Congress for the reconstruction
of Iraq will be dispensed by Negroponte. This means more contracts for
the likes of Halliburton. Much of Iraq lies in ruins today as a result
of the terrible destruction from the bombings and the occupation. The
decisions regarding rebuilding should be made by the Iraqi people and
nobody else.

Tenth, the UN and the occupying authorities have decided that
elections in Iraq will be held in January and they are busy working
out all the details, including who will be allowed to run for office.
A touchstone of a sovereign nation is that it determines for itself
how its government will be selected. But not here. Others will decide
that matter.

Eleventh, the U.S. and UN have forbidden Iraq's interim government to
pass laws, so how can anyone take seriously the assertion that Iraq
now has sovereignty? One law that needs to be passed would recognize
the right of workers to form unions, bargain collectively and strike.
Saddam Hussein previously issued a decree barring unions from even
existing in state-owned enterprises. That decree was left on the books
and enforced by the occupation after Saddam was overthrown. A truly
sovereign government, as opposed to the current puppet one, could
rescind all anti-union laws and guarantee workers their basic rights.
This would be a big step forward on the road to a democratic Iraq but
it's not happening now.

Twelfth, prior to the invasion and occupation, two-thirds of Iraq's
enterprises were state- owned. Under Bremer, privatization proceeded
at breakneck speed. Iraq's resources are still being looted by foreign
investors. But Iraq's wealth belongs to its people, and they should be
the ones deciding all questions regarding its disposition. However,
they have no real say in the matter.

So what conclusion should we draw from all this? That the repression,
suppression, and oppression of Iraq continues, and that the fight must
continue to bring all U.S. and other foreign troops home so that Iraq,
at last, can become a truly free and independent nation. Iraq for the
Iraqis!"

http://www.kclabor.org/another_big_lie.htm