Shortly before the ceremony an-nouncing the creation of Iraq's new interim government on June 1st, yet another car bomb went off in Baghdad, killing four people. The country's new leaders-elect will have few illusions about the scale of the task they face as they steer Iraq towards elections and full sovereignty next year. In Ayad Allawi, the prime minister, they have found a man who is not popular but is probably as capable as any of running the troubled country. A former neuro-surgeon and CIA agent, he lacks the subtleties of other politicians, but in Iraq's current climate a bruising personality may be what is needed. His plan to re-Baathify parts of Iraq's army is likely to prove controversial. But it is the only way to create a credible security force by the end of 2005, the tentative date set for the withdrawal of coalition forces.
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