• Military Menu                       

• Introduction
• Systems
• Facilities
• Agencies
• Industry
• Operations
• Countries
• Hot Documents
• News
• Reports
• Policy
• Budget
• Congress
• Links

• WMD
• Intelligence
• Homeland Security
• Space

Transitional Administration

During the conflict with Iraq, US administration officials consistently and repeatedly stated that the Iraqi people would shape Iraq's transition to democracy. The transition has been divided into distinct but fluid phases.

The Office of Reconstruction and Humanitarian Assistance has managed the first phase of Iraqi transition. ORHA oversees security, the delivery of humanitarian assistance and initial efforts to resume the provision of essential services to the Iraqi people. The office is in charge of meeting basic needs like medical care, water, electrical services, and making sure that the Iraqi civil servants who administer those programs get paid.

The ORHA is a multinational, coalition effort, including representatives from a range of U.S. government agencies, including the Defense Department, the State Department, the Justice Department, USAID, and advisors from outside the government, including some very distinguished former government servants.

Ambassador L. Paul Bremer III was named Presidential Envoy to Iraq on May 6, 2003 and in this capacity is the Administrator of the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA). Iraq is currently administered by the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA = "Can't Provide Anything"). The CPA is working with Iraqi police to establish law enforcement and civil structures throughout the country. US and British military personnel are providing police protection as well as the security situation permits.

The second element of a post-Saddam Iraq will be something to be called the Iraqi Interim Authority. That authority should assume increasingly greater responsibility over time for the administration of Iraq. The Iraqi Interim Authority will draw from all of Iraq's religious and ethnic groups, to include both Iraqis from currently outside the country and those inside. It will provide a way for Iraqis to begin immediately to direct the political and economic reconstruction of their country. The authority would include not only members of the free Iraqi groups that have fought Saddam's tyranny, and the independents among the expatriate community, but will also draw from local leaders who have already begun to participate with the coalition in the liberation of Iraq. As people throughout the country become free to express their views, and it's happening, obviously, at a spectacular pace, more and more people will emerge from within Iraq who can become a part of that leadership.

Elections are the obvious solution to restoring sovereignty to the Iraqi people. But at the present elections are simply not possible. There are no election rolls, no election law, no political parties law and no electoral districts. The current constitution is a Hussein-dictated formula for tyranny. When Hussein loaded two trucks with money and fled the advancing coalition forces, he left behind a vacuum. Electing a government without a permanent constitution defining and limiting government powers invites confusion and eventual abuse.

Much to the dismay of Iraqi political groups, a vote on an interim authority was delayed, due to a need to restore basic order in Iraq. The US has had a difficult time ending crime and violence in Baghdad and other urban areas in Iraq.

To hold elections Iraq needs a new constitution and it must be written by Iraqis. It must reflect their culture and beliefs. Writing a constitution, as all Americans know, is a solemn and important undertaking. It cannot be done in days or weeks.

The first step came with the creation of a 25-member Governing Council broadly representative of Iraqi society. These men and women have come forward willingly to help build the new Iraq. On 13 July 2003 the 25-member Iraqi Governing council was formed. The Council is composed of members from Iraq's diverse religious and ethnic groups. Three women are included on the council.

The second step took place when the Governing Council named a preparatory committee to devise a way to write a constitution.

The third and most important was putting day-to-day operation of Iraqi government in the hands of Iraqis. In early September 2003 the Governing Council named 25 ministers. Now every Iraqi ministry is run by an Iraqi appointed by Iraqis. These ministers, who serve at the pleasure of the Governing Council, conduct the business of government. They set policy. They began preparing the 2004 budget and must operate their ministries according to those budgets. The coalition wants them to exercise real power and will thrust authority at them. The CPA advisers prepared briefing books for the new ministers, to give them books that provide them advice on what the major policy issues are and on the budget. And they will continue to be advisers to the ministers. The ministers will be responsible for running the ministries, determining the policies. They are responsible to the Governing Council, answerable to the Governing Council, for policies and budgets. The Governing Council supervises the ministers.

Writing Iraq's new constitution is the fourth step. It begins after the preparatory committee recommends a process for writing a constitution to the Governing Council.

Step five, popular ratification of the constitution, is indispensable. Once written, the constitution will be widely circulated, discussed and debated among the Iraqi people. All adult Iraqis will have the opportunity to vote for or against it. For the first time in history, Iraq will have a permanent constitution written by and approved by the Iraqi people.

The sixth step, election of a government, follows naturally. Shortly after the constitution is ratified by popular vote there will be an election to fill the elective offices specified in the constitution. The officials in charge of that government will be chosen through universal adult suffrage in an open election. When that government is elected, Iraq will have a government designed and selected by Iraqis. It will be unique in Iraq's history and will send a powerful message about democracy to other countries in the region.

In the final phase, an Iraqi government would assume sovereignty on the basis of elections in accordance with a new constitution. The US intention is to leave Iraq in the hands of Iraqis themselves as soon as possible. As President Bush has said, the United States intends to stay in Iraq as long as necessary, but not one day more. That the people of Iraq want a voice in their own government, there can be no doubt. The Ayatollah Ali Sistani, who was under house arrest since 1988, who is now free of Saddam's tyranny, recently issued what is perhaps history's first pro-American fatwa. He advised believers, quote, "Not to hinder the forces of liberation, and help bring this war against the tyrant to a successful end for the Iraqi people." Sistani, referring to recent events, was reported to have quoted the Prophet Mohammad saying there is good in what happened, and added himself, "our people need freedom even more than air. Iraq has suffered and it deserves better government."

The seventh step, dissolving the coalition authority, will follow naturally on the heels of elections. Once Iraq has a freely elected government, the coalition authority will happily yield the remainder of its authority to that sovereign Iraqi government.

To this end the US has set forth a number of guidelines. Among which are:

• Assert authority. Our goal is to put functional and political authority in the hands of Iraqis as soon as possible. The Coalition Provisional Authority has the responsibility to fill the vacuum of power in a country that has been a dictatorship for decades, by asserting authority over the country. It will do so. It will not tolerate self-appointed "leaders."
  
  
• Provide security. Among the immediate objectives are restoration of law and order for the Iraqi people and provision of essential services. The coalition is hiring and training Iraqi police, and will be prepared to use force to impose order as required -- because without order, little else will be possible.
  
  
• Commitment to stay; commitment to leave. The coalition will maintain as many security forces in Iraq as necessary, for as long as necessary, to accomplish the stated goals -- and no longer. Already 39 nations have offered stabilization forces or other needed assistance for the postwar effort, and that number is growing. Together, coalition countries will seek to provide a secure environment, so that over time Iraqis will be able to take charge of their country.
  
  
• Improve conditions; involve Iraqis. The coalition is working energetically to improve the circumstances of the Iraqi people. Already, electric services in the north and south are better than they have been in 12 years and the power situation in Baghdad is improving, albeit slowly. The coalition is working to achieve rapid and visible accomplishments in other vital public services. The coalition will work to engage the Iraqi people as rapidly as possible, and give Iraqis leadership roles in the reconstruction effort -- for it is their responsibility to build the future of their country.
  
  
• Promote Iraqis who share the goals of a free and moderate Iraq. In staffing ministries and positioning Iraqis in ways that will increase their influence, the coalition will work to have supportive Iraqis involved as early as possible -- so that Iraqi voices can explain the goals and direction to the Iraqi people. Only if Iraqis are engaged in, and responsible for, explaining to and leading their fellow citizens will broad public support develop that is essential for security.
  
  
• De-Baathification. The coalition will work with forward-looking Iraqis and actively oppose the old regime's enforcers -- the Baath Party leaders, Fedayeen Saddam, and other instruments of repression -- and make clear that it will eliminate the remnants of Saddam's regime.
  
  
• Justice for criminals. Those who committed war crimes or crimes against humanity will be tracked down and brought to justice. Mechanisms will be established to detain and screen out members of organizations that carried out the regime's repression and bring them to justice. De-Baathification may cause some inefficiencies, but it is critical to removing pervasive fear from Iraqi society.
  
  
• Repairing the social fabric. Iraq will need to find ways to heal the wounds the Baathists inflicted on the society. The experiences of Eastern Europe and other countries could inform this process.
  
  
• Property claims. Mechanisms will be established to adjudicate property claims peacefully.
  
  
• Favor market economy. Decisions will favor market systems, not Stalinist command systems, and activities that will begin to diversify the Iraqi economy beyond oil. The coalition will encourage moves to privatize state-owned enterprises.
  
  
• Oil. The Coalition Provisional Authority will develop a plan for the Iraqi oil industry based on transparency. Iraq's oil wealth will be used and marketed for the benefit of the Iraqi people.
  
  
• Contracts -- promoting Iraq's recovery. Whenever possible, contracts for work in Iraq will go to those who will use Iraqi workers and to countries that supported the Iraqi people's liberation, so as to contribute to greater regional economic activity and to accelerate Iraq's and the region's economic recovery.
  
  
• The international community. Other countries and international organizations, including the United Nations and non-governmental organizations, will be welcomed to assist in Iraq. They can play an important role. The Coalition Provisional Authority will work with them to maintain a focus of effort.
  
  
• Iraq's neighbors: assistance, but not interference. Assistance from Iraq's neighbors will be welcomed. Conversely, interference in Iraq by its neighbors or their proxies -- including those whose objective is to remake Iraq in Iran's image -- will not be accepted or permitted.
  
  
• Priority sources of funds. In assisting the Iraqi people, the U.S. will play its role but should not be considered the funder of first and last resort. The American people have already made a significant investment to liberate Iraq, and stand ready to contribute to rebuilding efforts. But when funds are needed, before turning to the U.S. taxpayers, the coalition will turn first to Iraqi regime funds located in Iraq; Iraqi funds in the U.N. Oil-for-Food program; seized frozen Iraqi regime assets in the U.S. and other countries; and international donors from across the globe, many of whom are already assisting.
  
  
• Trial and error. The transition to democracy will take time and may not always be a smooth road. In Central and Eastern Europe, the process has taken time, but it is succeeding. Trial and error and experimentation will be part of the process. It will not be perfect. Course corrections will be necessary and should be expected. This effort will require patience by all involved if it is to succeed.
  
  
• Patience and respect for Iraq's singular character. The ultimate political outcome must be decided by the Iraqi people, within the broad principles of the rule of law, minority rights, individual liberty, and representative democracy. One ought not expect the Iraqi outcome to replicate any other system.
  

Donald Rumsfeld has stated:

" Iraqis have an historic opportunity to build a free and civil society. The road ahead will be difficult, but the coalition is committed to helping them succeed. As Iraqis take hold of their country, develop the institutions of self-government, and reclaim their place as responsible members of the international community, the world will have a new model for a successful transition from tyranny to self-reliance -- and a new ally in the global war on terror and the struggle for freedom and moderation in the Muslim world."

and

"The challenge there has four components: humanitarian, security, economic and political. The humanitarian challenge has been less than anticipated, thanks to advanced planning by the United States and the world community and to the rapid, focused, and discriminate way the war was fought by coalition forces. Some pockets of humanitarian need remain, but the massive, anticipated crisis thankfully never materialized. Refugees and internally displaced persons are relatively few; supplies of food, water and medicine are mostly adequate or at least improving. The U.S. government has provided some $600 million through UN agencies and NGOs to meet immediate humanitarian needs."