Sovereign Iraq! Sovereign Iraq!
It's like Christmas coming on December 23!

As part of the transfer of sovereignty, every member of Iraq's new government receives a Kevlar vest and a copy of The Complete Idiot's Guide to Representative Democracy.

I was listening to the BBC at around 1:00 or 2:00 AM when the story broke and the transfer became official. They said that the U.S. had transferred the "documents of sovereignty." First, I thought "documents of sovereignty" sounded like a very Monty Pythonesque phrase. Second, I imagined that what really happened was Paul Bremer placed a paper bag on Iraq's porch, set it ablaze, rang the doorbell and ran away: Ding dong "Here's your sovereignty Mr. Alawi."

But I'm sure Iyad Allawi, et. al. will be happy to step in it for their country.