Bremer but had no power and little domestic political legitimacy as a body appointed
by the United States.
Bremer governed Iraq for about thirteen months, until June 28, 2004, when he
handed political power, and sovereignty, to a new “interim” government. This gov-
ernment was headed by Ayad Allawi, a prominent Shiite politician who had lived many
years in exile and had survived an assassination attempt by agents of Saddam Hus-
sein’s government. Allawi’s chief tasks were to keep Iraq from disintegrating and to
oversee (with technical assistance from the United Nations) Iraq’s first free election,
held on January 30, 2005. This election generally was successful despite ongoing vio-
lence in much of the country and a boycott by Sunni Muslims, who believed that the
new political system was rigged against them. The election brought to office yet
another temporary government—a “transitional” national assembly that served through
2005 and into the first part of 2006. This assembly selected a cabinet led by Ibrahim
al-Jaafari, head of the Shiite party known as al-Dawa (Iraq’s New Government,
p. 526).
Following is the text of UN Security Council Resolution 1511, adopted on Octo-
ber 16, 2003, endorsing the creation of an Iraqi Governing Council as a represen-
tative body to advise the U.S.-led occupation authority in Iraq and authorizing a
multinational force led by the United States “to take all necessary measures to con-
tribute to the maintenance of security and stability in Iraq.”DOCUMENT
UN Security Council
Resolution 1511 (2003)
OCTOBER16, 2003The Security Council,
Reaffirmingits previous resolutions on Iraq, including resolution 1483 (2003) of 22
May 2003 and 1500 (2003) of 14 August 2003, and on threats to peace and security
caused by terrorist acts, including resolution 1373 (2001) of 28 September 2001, and
other relevant resolutions,
Underscoringthat the sovereignty of Iraq resides in the State of Iraq, reaffirming
the right of the Iraqi people freely to determine their own political future and control
their own natural resources, reiteratingits resolve that the day when Iraqis govern them-
selves must come quickly, and recognizingthe importance of international support, par-
ticularly that of countries in the region, Iraq’s neighbors, and regional organizations,
in taking forward this process expeditiously,
Recognizingthat international support for restoration of conditions of stability and
security is essential to the well-being of the people of Iraq as well as to the ability of
512 IRAQ AND THE GULF WARS