Mixed media: What happens next in Iraq?

How the US handover to an Iraqi government was seen around the world:

US PUPPET

THE ASIAN PRESS: The prospects of Iraq's return to democracy remain bleak; first the US administrator, Paul Bremer III, put the interim government on hold and now that such a body has been put in place, its members command no respect from the Iraqis. Indeed, the assassination July 16 of the governor of Haditha shows the resistance is now going to target anyone seen to be co-operating with the occupying powers.
- Daily Times, Pakistan

THE ARAB MEDIA: Critics say the interim government will not really be sovereign because it will not, for example, have law-making powers. They point out that the government will not ask foreign troops to leave the country because those in government have supported the presence of US and other troops. And outsiders will also control most spending since Iraq's only source of revenue - oil - will continue to be deposited in a development fund set up by the UN.
- Aljazeera.net

THE HEARTLAND AMERICAN: The USA is still very much in control. 130,000-plus of our young men and women are still there. My government is building 14 permanent bases, Halliburton [the US oil services company] controls the oil. And the handover ceremony was in secret? Smacks of an ongoing occupation to me.
- Betsy Lawrence, Madison, Wisconsin, on BBC World Service Talking Point

THE JAPANESE DAILY: Humanitarian and reconstruction assistance efforts will become effective only when the new Iraq and the international community join hands to allow ongoing activity by UN aid agencies and non-governmental organisations. But first, security must be restored. If the US-led coalition forces retain power even after the transfer of sovereignty, anti-American attacks will continue, as we have learned during a year of occupation. Yet, the US Government wants to retain power over the activities of coalition troops and maintain a military presence as long as it feels is necessary. If the Japanese Government is serious about Iraq's reconstruction, it should persuade the United States to allow early independence.
- asahi.com (website of the Asahi Shimbun)

THE BLOGGER: What has changed? The big change is that Allawi now controls the Iraqi government's $20 billion a year in income. The problem is that the Iraqi Government probably needs $30 billion to run the Government properly, and with only two-thirds of that or less, the Government will be weak and somewhat ineffective.
- Juan Cole, Professor of History, University of Michigan.

RAYS OF HOPE

THE ECONOMIST'S EYE: Despite the violence that continues to plague Iraqi cities, many economic indicators are booming. Real estate prices and rents in Baghdad, for instance, have more than doubled since the fall of the Ba'athist regime, says Faiq Abdul Rasool, Iraq's deputy planning minister. Sinan al-Shibibi, central bank governor, says the Iraqi dinar exchange rate has remained relatively stable in recent months, despite the influx of coalition dollars into the economy.
- Financial Times, London

UK TV: The re-inclusion of Ba'athist members into the security forces should not be regarded as a danger. Though the Ba'athist Party was a tool used by Saddam to prop up his dictatorship, many Ba'athists lower down the ranks had little to do with the terrors inflicted on their own population and they can bring expertise and knowledge to their posts.
- Sky News, UK

A FOREIGNER IN IRAQ: As we move farther away from war and have new troopers come in, they will focus more on Civil-Military Operations. Overseeing town hall meetings on the new Iraqi Government, funding projects that Iraqi neighbourhood advisory councils work hand in hand to accomplish. They will be reinforcing the notion that the idea of welfare state is over, people will have to "invest themselves in the process".
- Omar Masry, US blogger working in Iraq