The US military handed over partial sovereignty to the interim Iraqi government two days before officially planned, due to the fact that Iraq is in a state of a sort of civil war. Iraqis will not have a fully sovereign, free nation, however, until the January 2005 election. Until then, over 100,000 US troops will still be in Iraq to maintain order, which seems to be rapidly slipping away. I hope for the best in Iraq; the Iraqi people have had a long, tragic history, and I hope that what we have done will, for the long run, be a good thing for the benefit of all.