[Announcer:] Tonight, the United States hands over power to the Iraqis two days early in a secret ceremony in Baghdad.
[L. Paul Bremer, U.s. Administrator Of Cpa:] The future of Iraq belongs to you, the Iraqi people.
[Announcer:] Tonight, former secretary of state Henry Kissinger will join us to give us his assessment of the new Iraqi government and its chances of defeating the insurgents. A U.S. Marine is missing in Iraq. Terrorists say they are holding him hostage. The Marine's family pleads for his freedom.
[Unidentified Male:] We pray and we plead for his safe released, and we ask all people of the world to join us in our prayers.
[Announcer:] A major setback for the Bush administration in the war on terror. The Supreme Court rules that suspected terrorists can challenge their detention in U.S. courts. And Iraq, Homeland Security, North Korea critics say they're all significant policy reversals that undermine U.S. credibility around the world. We'll have a special report. This is LOU DOBBS TONIGHT for Monday, June 28. Here now for an hour of news, debate and opinion is Lou Dobbs.
[Lou Dobbs, Cnn Anchor:] Good evening. The United States today handed over sovereignty to Iraq 15 months after President Bush ordered U.S. troops to overthrow Saddam Hussein. The secret ceremony today took place two days earlier than planned to prevent any efforts by insurgents to disrupt the transfer of power. But today was marked by continued violence. Insurgents killed a British soldier and wounded two others in the Southern city of Basra. We begin our coverage tonight with Christiane Amanpour in Baghdad.
[Christiane Amanpour, Cnn Chief International Correspondent:] At precisely 10:26 this morning, Baghdad time, Paul Bremer became the ex-U.S. administrator.
[Bremer:] "We welcome Iraq's steps to take its rightful place of equality and honor among the free nations of the world. Sincerely, L. Paul Bremer, ex-administrator of the Coalition Provisional Authority.
[Amanpour:] Then Bremer presented the blue-bound document, the legal transfer of sovereignty, to Iraq's new interim government. For a momentous occasion, it was understated, taking place in a small room in the prime minister's new office.
[Ghazi Al-yawar, Iraqi President:] This is a historical day. We fought transfer of sovereignty to the Iraqi government and the Iraqi people.
[Amanpour:] Bremer had signed the order in his own office earlier in the morning. As he said farewell to his staff on the way to the handover ceremony, he also carried a letter to Prime Minister Allawi from President George Bush formally requesting that diplomatic ties be restored between Iraq and the United States. They were broken in January 1991 just before the first Gulf War. Bremer went from the ceremony to a helicopter, which took him out of occupation headquarters, the green zone, that had been his office and home for the past 14 months. He then boarded a plane out of Iraq and out of this job. As Bremer was in the air, the rest of the Cabinet was sworn in. Allawi set out his agenda with a wide range of promises on everything from services to the economy, democracy and especially security. He offered a pardon for any Iraqi insurgents and former Saddam loyalists who did not have blood on their hands, that in return for information and cooperation in fingering the terrorists. While he has repeatedly said he would impose emergency security measures, that's expected to fall short of full martial law. Allawi has yet to detail his security plan. It could include curfews and a ban on public gathering. [on camera]: A brand-new Iraqi flag now flies over this green zone, and this is once again sovereign Iraqi territory. But this country is also swept up in the terror of the insurgency, and so the mood can best be summed up as hoping for the best and preparing for the worst. Christiane Amanpour, CNN, Baghdad.
[Dobbs:] President Bush today said the Iraqi people finally have their country back after decades of brutal rule. President Bush, speaking at a NATO summit in Turkey, said terrorists will not prevent growth of Iraqi democracy. Senior White House Correspondent John King reports from Istanbul, Turkey.
[John King, Cnn Senior White House Correspondent:] It was a tightly held secret as the president arrived from Monday's NATO summit session. Then this note from his national security adviser, "Iraq is sovereign." Mr. Bush scribbled his reaction in the margin, "Let freedom reign!" Then a glance at his watch to mark the moment and a celebratory handshake with the leader at his side from the beginning of the Iraq debate. This time, no banners to declaring mission accomplished, but, while Mr. Bush was more subdued, he was optimistic and by no means apologetic.
[George W. Bush, President Of The United States:] We pledge to end a dangerous regime, to free the oppressed, and to restore sovereignty. We have kept our word.
[King:] The president called the early transfer of power a tribute to Iraq's new government and a message to those behind the violent insurgency.
[Bush:] Their bombs and attacks have not prevented Iraqi sovereignty, and they will not prevent Iraqi democracy.
[King:] From a legal standpoint, occupation over after 14 months, but 138,000 U.S. and 12,000 British troops remain, and Prime Minister Blair warned of difficult and dangerous days ahead.
[Tony Blair, British Prime Minister:] We'll stay for as long as it takes to make sure that that support is there for them so that we help them to that freedom and democracy they want to see.
[King:] The NATO alliance quickly pledged help training Iraqi security forces. Not too long ago, Mr. Bush had hoped for NATO troops, not just training, but he compromised in the face of familiar opposition.
[Jacques Chirac, French President:] It is not the vocation of NATO to intervene in Iraq.
[King:] Sovereignty ahead of schedule gained steam about a week ago, U.S. officials say, and Iraq's new prime minister gave the final approval of that late Sunday night, telling the Bush administration the sooner he took power, the sooner he could begin to tackle the serious security problems in Iraq. And, Lou, now that the political handover is complete, U.S. officials tell us they expect the United States will give legal custody of Saddam Hussein to the new Iraqi government within a matter of days. But we also are told that U.S. military forces will continue to help guard the former Iraqi leader. As one official told me today, we want to make sure he stands trial and is not snuck out a back door or strung up a flagpole Lou.
[Dobbs:] John, thank you very much. John King, our senior White House correspondent, with the president in Istanbul, Turkey. Iraq's new government will stay in office until early next year when Iraq will hold its first nationwide elections. But the interim government will have only limited powers and American troops will continue to lead the fight against insurgents. Kitty Pilgrim reports.
[Kitty Pilgrim, Cnn Business Correspondent:] Interim Iraqi Prime Minister Iyad Allawi today called on all Iraqis to help fight insurgents. The success of the interim government depends on it.
[Iyad Allawi, Iraqi Interim Prime Minister:] I call on all of the heroes of the past to eradicate the foreign terrorists that are killing our people and destroying our country.
[Pilgrim:] Iraqi citizens themselves have become targets, not just the coalition troops. Car bombs last week in one day killed more than 100 and wounded more than 300. Ninety percent were Iraqis.
[Nile Gardiner, Heritage Foundation:] The key goal of the terrorists will be to spark off a major civil war between the three ethnic groups, and that, of course, is a key goal of a lot of the terrorist activity at the moment.
[Pilgrim:] So the short-term goal of the interim government will be stopping terrorism, but the longer-term challenges are the ethnic divisions.
[Patrick Basham, Cato Institute:] The ethnic and religious divisions in Iraq are the number one problem going forward in trying to build any kind of liberal democracy. The divisions are deep, they are very serious, and, as we're seeing on a daily basis, they are increasingly violent.
[Pilgrim:] But some regional experts say there is a way to structure the government after general elections to cut down on ethnic divisions.
[Michael Rubin, American Enterprise Institute:] If people generally have local rule and, by this, I don't mean independence or even autonomy but, I mean, local city councils making decisions instead of bureaucrats in Baghdad, that's what ensures stability in the future of Iraq, and, if Kurdish areas are governed over by Kurds, and Turkmen areas are governed over by Turkmen, Sunni and Shia likewise, that's how you're going to get stability.
[Pilgrim:] One of the top priorities for the Iraqi government is making sure the oil infrastructure remains intact. Losses from previous attacks on the oil facilities were put at $1 billion, and oil revenues will be needed to rebuild the country and finance the new government Lou.
[Dobbs:] An important step forward. Kitty, thank you very much. Kitty Pilgrim. Today's handover ceremony overshadowed the fate of a U.S. Marine reported kidnapped in Iraq. An Arab television network broadcast a videotape of a man wearing a military uniform who displayed a Marine Corps identification card. But the U.S. military has not confirmed that a Marine has been captured. Brent Sadler reports from Baghdad.
[Brent Sadler, Cnn Beirut Bureau Chief:] Even as sovereignty was being passed to the interim Iraqi government, death threats were hanging over the heads of five hostages one U.S. Marine, three Turks and a Pakistani all Muslims. The abducted American, Corporal Wassef Ali Hassoun, is of Lebanese origin, from the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force. He vanished a week ago. A videotape first aired by an Arab satellite channel showed a blindfolded man wearing military fatigues with a Kurd sword held over his head. A little known militant group called Islamic Reaction claims they'll behead the Marine unless prisoners in Iraq are released. Corporal Hassoun's family in West Jordan, Utah, have identified him, but U.S. military officials have only confirmed he's listed as missing. Meanwhile, a 72-hour clock is ticking on the threatened executions of three Turkish nationals. Video of their horrific captivity was shown Saturday. Their abductors are understood to be loyal to the most wanted Iraqi terror suspect Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, and they warn the Turks will also be beheaded unless Turkey stops doing business in Iraq, a threat that also applies to a Pakistani driver who's held by yet another militant group. Brent Sadler, CNN, Baghdad.
[Dobbs:] We'll have much more on Iraq just ahead. I'll be joined by former secretary of state Henry Kissinger who says the early transfer of power shows the fragile nature of the U.S. position in Iraq. Nearly 150,000 American troops are still in Iraq fighting insurgents. How long will those troops have to stay? We'll have a report from the Pentagon. And the Supreme Court gives terror suspects new rights to challenge the Bush administration and the war on terror. Our Senior Legal Analyst Jeffrey Toobin will join us. Stay with us.