Aug. 8 marked the 100th day since the end of major military operations in Iraq. This is a good time to recognize the full meaning of the fact that 24 million Iraqis are free from oppression for the first time in decades.
Working closely with Iraqis, the international Coalition Provisional Authority is focused on security, economic rebirth, strengthening basic services and the establishment of an independent, democratic government.
Stability is enhanced by the fact that nearly 200,000 former Iraqi soldiers and officers have been paid their monthly stipends. The economy is strengthened by the fact that banks are opening throughout the country and a new currency is being urgently prepared.
Step by step, Iraqis' lives are improving as transportation is restarted, university students finish their exams for the year, food distribution systems continue working and more than 150 newspapers compete in a new marketplace of ideas.
Cultural life is reawakening, too. Iraqi athletes, including the famous soccer players, are playing joyfully, without fear of torture. The Iraqi Olympic Committee, previously the bastion of Uday Hussein's brutality, is reconstituted with free Iraqis.
Baghdad's symphony and theaters are reopening. The international community is focused on rehabilitating the marshlands in southern Iraq, where the ancient civilization of Marsh Arabs was almost destroyed by former president Saddam Hussein. And thousands of treasures from Iraq's National Museum have been recovered.
Under the transitional leadership of my good friend L. Paul Bremer, these and many more accomplishments have been achieved in 100 days.
The new Iraqi Governing Council was formed last month. This 25-member Council -- made of three women, Kurdish, Sunni, Christian and Turkmen representatives, and Shia -- is a first and important move toward Iraqi self-government.
UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan praised the Council in a July report to the UN Security Council. This should not go unnoticed by critics who have highlighted the new Iraq's growing pains rather than its achievements.
"[The Council's] formation is an important first step towards the full restoration of Iraqi sovereignty," Annan said.
The UN special envoy in Iraq, Sergio Vieira de Mello, is working with the coalition in Baghdad to support the new council. He said the council can be seen as broadly representative of Iraq's constituencies and is a necessary part of moving beyond the reign of Saddam.
"With the formation of the Governing Council, we now enter a new stage that succeeds the disorienting power vacuum that followed the fall of the previous regime," de Mello said.
UN Resolution 1483 stresses, among other things, Iraq's right to determine its own political future and welcomes those who support the creation of an environment in which Iraq may do so.
US President George W. Bush called on nations of the world to support Iraq's progress, now that the Governing Council has been established.
"I urge the nations of the world to contribute -- militarily and financially -- towards fulfilling Security Council Resolution 1483's vision of a free and secure Iraq," he said.
Annan echoed that comment. "The people of Iraq are anxious for their country to become a stable, democratic and prosperous state. To succeed, they need the support of their neighbors and the region as a whole... A stable Iraq -- one that is at peace with itself and its neighbors -- is in our collective interest, particularly that of the region."
Bush has highlighted the aspirations of freedom-loving Iraqis, as well as the plan to achieve their hope.
"Soon," he said on July 30, "representatives of the people will begin drafting a new Constitution and free elections will follow. After decades of oppression, the people of Iraq are reclaiming their country and are reclaiming their future."
It isn't just world leaders and ambassadors who proclaim these successes; the clearest and most important voices are those of Iraqis themselves.
"The tension is reducing every day. We are seeing a change. People are starting to realize that the soldiers are not here to occupy Fallujah forever -- they're here to help us rebuild," said Taha Bedawi, mayor of Fallujah to The Washington Post on July 29.
Douglas Paal is the director of the American Institute in Taiwan.
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