Sovereignty Lite

Not that I'm a proponent of martial law, or for that matter even convinced that Allawi will be anything but a puppet strongman, but it seems to me that, at the very least, the Iraqis will expect that "sovereignty" means sovereignty. If the US fails to follow through on the promise of sovereignty (and it is an empty promise if I've ever heard one), the violence of today will be the proverbial picnic compared to what we'll see come July 1. This story in the Financial Times (via billmon) has some illuminating information as to the limits of American bestowed sovereignty:

The US-led occupation authority in Baghdad has warned Iraq's interim government not to carry out its threat of declaring martial law, insisting that only the US-led coalition has the right to adopt emergency powers after the June 30 handover of sovereignty.

Here's the thing: if Allawi (Ba'athist and CIA agent at once) has the authority to impose martial law (as he'd threatenedsuggested he would to put down the insurgency), the Iraqis are in for some very Saddam-esque trouble. If the US strips Allawi of the illusion of independence, the US and the new "sovereign" government are both toast.

The problem here, and it's a consistent issue with the Bush administration on so many levels, is that substance and truth matter very little. It is image and inference and sleight of hand that form the root of almost all of their actions, both foreign and domestic. While Rove and Cheney, and even Bush, have been using Iraq as a political chesspiece here at home, the real world, globally influential, ramifications of their actions seem to matter very little.

Also note:

The coalition's warning highlights growing tension between the US-led multinational force and Iraq's appointed government over how to handle counter-insurgency after the handover.

US advisers are concerned about the security powers sought by Mr Allawi, a one-time Baath party member, and are struggling to check the ambitions of his ministers to rebuild and re-arm Iraq's forces.

"Iraq will have a lightly-armed standing army and no heavy field artillery," says Jacinta Caroll, director of defence policy for the Coalition Provisional Authority. If tanks and attack aircraft were needed, Iraq would have to rely on US-led forces, she said.

Frustrated Iraqi officials say reliance on US-led forces will undermine public confidence in the restoration of sovereignty and re-ignite claims that they are lackeys of the occupying forces.

To curb Iraq's access to heavy weapons, observers say the occupation authorities have signed a $259m contract with US company Anham Joint Venture to be sole supplier of arms to Iraq's armed forces for the next two years.

Alarmed that the deal could leave Iraq's forces outgunned by an enemy with mortars and rockets, Mr Allawi this week vowed to refurbish the old Iraq army's arsenal, and appealed to neighbouring states to provide military hardware.