Bremer,
however, warned Sunday of fresh violence in coming months from, what
he called, a small remaining band of loyalists to the deposed Iraqi
president and "an increase in terrorism by non-Iraqis" aimed
at sabotaging progress in Iraq.
Paul
Bremer's opinion piece, entitled "The Road Ahead in Iraq -- and
How to Navigate It," appeared in The New York Times
Sunday.
"This
is the latest sign of progress," Bremer wrote, pledging that the
Iraqi governing council "will immediately exercise real political
power, appointing interim ministers and working with the coalition on
policy and budgets."
Iraq
"is not yet a full democracy, but freedom is on the march, from
north to south," Bremer said.
Yet
he warned that "a small minority" of "bitter
enders" from Saddam's regime, foreign terrorists, Iran-influenced
Islamic extremists and criminals oppose such progress and were
attacking soldiers and civilians.
"The
combination of a broken infrastructure and acts of sabotage could mean
a rough summer. We will suffer casualties, as the bitter-enders resort
to violence. We are also braced for an increase in terrorism by
non-Iraqis," he said.
"No
one should doubt our determination to use our power in the face of
violent acts," he added.
"These
people do not pose a strategic threat to America or to a democratic
Iraq. They enjoy no support since their only vision is to re-impose
the dictatorship hated by Iraqis. Our military will hunt them
down."
Bremer
sought to put mounting U.S. casualties, which a majority of U.S.
citizens called "unacceptable" in a recent poll, in a new
light, noting that the attacks seem to be aimed at U.S.
"successes."
"With
these attacks on Iraq's new successes, citizens of coalition nations
ask how long we will remain in Iraq - and some Iraqis may doubt our
ability to improve their lives," Bremer wrote.
"As
President Bush has made clear, we are committed to establishing the
conditions for security, prosperity and democracy. America has no
designs on Iraq and its wealth. We will finish our job here and stay
not one day longer than necessary," he added.
Wary
Iraqis
However,
many Iraqis doubt Iraq's new transitional Governing Council will bring
the good times back after years of hard living.
The
country's northern Kurds want their own state, the Shiites wish to
erect an Iranian-style country, and Pentagon favorite Chalabi is
untrustworthy, according to Salwan, a Sunni Muslim.
Left
to their own devices, Salwan, 52, fears the political parties
mushrooming here will drag Iraq into civil war.
"Iraqis
don't know how to make democracy work. We are not animals, but we need
a leader to guide us, we need a leader to carefully clear our heads so
we can accept democracy," Salwan says.
He
like many others believes a stretch of stability will somehow
transform the government and the political leaders from feuding rivals
to responsible practitioners of democracy.
"I
need a good government that will establish security. When the
Americans can do this they can leave," says Salwan.
"For
now, we have God," he says, "and God is better than America
because everyone comes to Iraq for their own interests."
Unlike
Salwan, Majid al-Jaburi does not appear worried, at least on the
surface.
In
principle, Jaburi says a transitional government should last only six
months and then the Americans should leave.
But
when he starts to turn the question over in his head, his answers
become nearly identical to Salwan's.
Turn
power over now to the political parties, "there would be civil
war," he says. "All the political parties are hoarding
weapons -- Kalashnikovs and rocket propelled grenades. It's like a
virus. Everyone has a weapon."
"If
the Americans establish a new government, with powerful leaders,
gradually with calm, the situation will improve day by day," he
says.
But
he warns: "Iraqis don't like foreign occupation."
