UNITED NATIONS — The Security Council unanimously approved a resolution Tuesday endorsing the U.S. hand-over of sovereignty to the Iraqi interim government June 30 and authorizing multinational forces to stay in the country for at least a year with the government's consent.
The resolution, which seeks to formally end the U.S. occupation of Iraq, gave the new Iraqi government control of its soldiers, police and oil resources and a say -- but not a veto -- on the multinational forces' operations.
During three weeks of negotiations, France, Germany, China and others had pressed for more Iraqi control over the operations of foreign troops, including the right to reject sensitive military operations, such as the recent clashes in Fallouja and Najaf. But Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari weakened that demand when he said last week that a veto wasn't necessary, and that the council need not be "more Iraqi than the Iraqis."
To secure the resolution, the United States and Britain made a major concession, granting the interim government the right to ask multinational forces to leave. That change came only after Iraqi Prime Minister Iyad Allawi assured U.S. Secretary of State Colin L. Powell in a letter that his country wanted foreign troops to remain at least until an elected government takes office, as is planned next year. The resolution's initial draft had given no deadline for the forces' mandate.
The U.S.-British resolution seeks international legitimacy for the caretaker government and help in American-led reconstruction efforts. In contrast to the bitter divisions that marked the prewar Iraq debate, the Security Council's 15 members voted unanimously to demonstrate their support for rebuilding a fractured, unstable country.
U.S. officials portrayed the vote as a diplomatic victory for the Bush administration at a time when doubts about the American ability to maintain control of Iraq are rising. In Sea Island, Ga., where President Bush is host of the annual Group of 8 economic summit, he hailed the U.N. vote as "a great victory for the Iraqi people."
British Prime Minister Tony Blair, who arrived at the resort island Tuesday afternoon, also welcomed the vote. "Whatever the divisions of the past, whatever the differences of the past, let us unite now in a different vision for a modern Iraq capable of being that force for good for Iraqis and also for the wider region and the world," Blair said.
