His appearance was a sharp contrast to Bremer, who rarely left the U.S.-protected Green Zone other than by military helicopter, and to various presidents of the now-defunct Iraqi Governing Council, who never appeared at unscripted events, much less bombing sites.
He projected confidence at the scene of the attack and a willingness to assume responsibility and take charge of the situation. "I am here and you will have to reckon with me," he seemed to be saying to those who detonated the explosives. A day or two later, when a tape purportedly made by Abu Musab Zarqawi -- whom U.S. leaders have branded the mastermind of a wave of violence in Iraq -- threatened Allawi with assassination, he showed the face of a fighter.
For The Record
Los Angeles Times Thursday July 08, 2004 Home Edition Main News Part A Page 2 National Desk 1 inches; 62 words Type of Material: Correction
Iraqi handover -- A news analysis about the new Iraqi government in Sunday's Section A stated that outgoing administrator L. Paul Bremer III did not give a farewell speech to the country. His spokesman has since said that Bremer taped an address that was given to Iraqi broadcast media. The spokesman said the address was not publicized to the Western news media.
"This is not a threat against me -- it is against the Iraqi people," he said.
It was Allawi who pushed U.S. officials into handing over power ahead of schedule.
"There is a quality of assertiveness about Prime Minister Allawi that we've seen quite a bit," said a senior coalition official who declined to be identified. "You know, 'Give me all the ministries, give me sovereignty now.' He keeps floating these security ideas, sometimes consulting us, sometimes not."
Even before he was on the job, he lost no time talking about the emergency measures he hoped to enact: curfews, arrests without warrants, detention without limits. Iraqis were supportive -- as they would not have been if the Americans had made the same suggestions.
At his first news conference, Allawi kept tight control. If a question strayed from the topic that he had announced -- the planned appearance of Hussein in an Iraqi court -- he simply moved on to the next one.
For the moment, such tactics are playing well with the Iraqi people. Although multiple bombings and kidnappings of foreigners are likely to recur, even a brief respite is welcome in this war-worn country.
The lull has given the new U.S.-backed interim government some room to maneuver -- far more than Iraqis were willing to give an occupying power.
In polls by the Iraqi Center for Research and Strategy Studies, more than a third of Iraqis had never heard of the new prime minister or the new president at the time they were nominated for their posts -- although both had served in the government and Allawi had held high-profile positions over the last year.
"This shows that a significant group of Iraqis just don't care about the political process in general," center director Saddoun Dulaimi said.
