EasP:

Iraqis Watch With Wary Pride as Little Changes, and a Lot: The transfer of sovereignty to an interim Iraqi government seems to be working on the national psyche in subtle ways. (IAN FISHER and SOMINI SENGUPTA, 7/04/04, NY Times)

Unlike the earth-shaking changes forced by the American military 16 months ago, the transfer of formal sovereignty to an interim government of Iraqi leaders seems to be working on the national psyche in more subtle ways, which have brought a measure of hope not evident here in some time.

This glint of optimism may prove to be brief, especially if the insurgency rekindles its usual intensity. But while no one really believes Iraqis will be able to overrule America's will, some things are different: The nation has a new government led by Iraqis who are certainly acting as if they are in charge. Many Iraqis say there seem to be fewer American troops on the streets and more Iraqi soldiers and police officers. Iraq woke up this morning to huge color photographs of Saddam Hussein in chains, with a smile on his face.

It is disorienting, this mix of cosmetic and real.

"I feel nothing," said Kamal Duleimi, 40, who sells used motor scooters to Iraqis who, under Mr. Hussein, could not have afforded them. "I'm happy. I'm sad. I don't know."

As the new government takes its first steps, many Iraqis seem to have resorted to their age-old coping strategy: waiting.

In its first six days in office, the government, led by a tough-talking exiled doctor, Iyad Allawi, has moved in a few big ways and many small ones. The major symbolic step was to have Mr. Hussein arraigned for the crimes he is accused of committing against Iraqis over three decades, going so far as to allow television coverage that showed him in a way Iraqis had never quite imagined.

The government has decided to re-instate the death penalty. It has talked about cracking down on insurgents, but also of co-opting them into the new order.

Soon it is expected to impose a state of emergency, which could include curfews, more checkpoints and limits on public demonstrations.

But the government has also set about the humdrum tasks of any sovereign state. Now visitors must receive a visa — with a new seal — before entering Iraq, rather than being waved through by an American soldier. Some 40 new ambassadors have been chosen, and soon will be announced. Local officials are discussing disassembling parts of the obstacle course of barriers and detours that American troops have used to keep them safe. The culture minister wants to move Polish troops off the ruins of Babylon, which Iraqis often cite as their proud link to the earliest of civilizations.

In the spring of 2003, as American troops rumbled up from Iraq, Iraqis waited not with flowers but with stolid frowns to see whether Mr. Hussein was truly gone before celebrating the new American order. More recently, they have been waiting to see whether the insurgency that has killed hundreds of Iraqis and Americans will chase American troops home.

Now they seem to be waiting, with a wary sense of promise, for two things: whether the new government actually improves their lives, and whether it can do so more or less independently of America.

Time to stop waiting for others and take control of their own destiny.

Posted by Orrin Judd at July 4, 2004 7:43 AM