| BABYLON, Iraq, Sept. 3 — The top U.S. commander in Iraq on Wednesday symbolically marked the transfer of control over the south-central part of the country to an international force led by Poland, hailing the handover as a sign of the international community’s commitment to Iraq.
IN BAGHDAD, the interim Governing Council swore in members of the newly appointed 25-member Cabinet that will begin taking over many of the day-to-day duties of governing the country from the U.S.-led Coalition Provisional Authority.
While military control was ceremoniously passed to the Poles, the handover of the holy city of Najaf was delayed at least two weeks after the car bombing Friday outside the Imam Ali shrine that killed between 85 and 125 people, including leading Shiite cleric, Ayatollah Mohammed Baqir al-Hakim.
Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez said the delay was appropriate and the U.S. Marines were needed in the area for a while longer.
The U.S.-led coalition will review the situation in Najaf about mid-month, Sanchez said, after which it is hoped control of the city will be handed over to a Spanish brigade taking part in the international force.
“It’s absolutely clear to a military commander that the most vulnerable period is when he is in a period of transition,” he told reporters after the ceremony. “We will reassess the situation in about two weeks. ... We hope at that point to complete the transfer of authority.”
He said there were also some equipment shortages for the Spanish brigade which would take some days to overcome.
The Polish military, which is leading a 9,500-strong international force in central Iraq, also cited delays in training peacekeepers.
Sanchez said the transfer of authority delivered a message that the U.S.-led force occupying Iraq was a broad-based 30-nation coalition.
‘HISTORIC MOMENT’
“It’s indeed a historic moment. It’s a moment where the international community has stepped up and turned a nine-nation coalition into a 30-nation coalition which sends an unmistakable message,” Sanchez told scores of troops from the countries taking part in the international force at an amphitheater near Babylon.
Seventeen countries are providing troops to the international force for the south-central part of the country ranging from Latvia to Mongolia. Four other countries are providing logistical support.
Maj. Gen. Andrzej Tyszkiewicz, commander of the international force, said his troops will not be occupiers.
“Even though we have different uniforms and different flags, we are unified by one purpose. That purpose is to help the Iraqi people wipe out the traces of Saddam Hussein’s monstrous dictatorship and build a new basis of peaceful existence.”
Tensions remain high in Najaf, where the brother of the slain cleric told 400,000 mourners on Tuesday that he blamed the U.S. occupation forces for the lax security that led to the attack at Iraq’s most sacred Shiite mosque.
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