Daniel Pipes, Middle East Forum in Philadelphia:
What changed in Iraq in late June 2004? Asked that question, L. Paul Bremer, the top U.S. administrator in Iraq, gave this stunning reply back in February: The Coalition Provisional Authority will go out of existence, he said, "But it's very important to stress that that's about all that changes. There will be the world's largest embassy here. We will have more than 100,000 troops here. The embassy will be responsible for overseeing the spending of $18.6 billion. ... The only thing really that changes is that I leave and will be replaced by an American ambassador to the mission." Bremer candidly summed things up: The transfer of power is more symbolic than real and will only lightly affect the evolution of post-Saddam Hussein Iraq.
