Skim the following pasasge and read the statements given right after the passage and judge whether they are true or false. Write“T”for true and“F”for false.

(1) A crucial political transition in Iraq began at the end of the occupation on June 28 and will last until the general elections set for December 31,2005, as has been documented in the supreme law of today’s Iraq, the Transitional Administrative Law. The interim government was sworn in on June 1, waiting to take the reigns of sovereignty from the Coalition Provisional Authority. Questions remain whether, in the coming 18 months, the interim government can revive Iraq’s sluggish post-war reconstruction and exert effective control over the country.
(2) First of all, the legitimacy of the new government remains an issue. The president, vice presidents, prime minister and ministers have all been appointed, not elected popularly. Both President Ghazi al-Yawer and Prime Minister Iyad Allawi were plucked from the U.S.-picked Governing Council. Also, one third of the new cabinet are also members of the council. The only difference between the interim government and the Governing Council is that all the 25 members of the council were appointed by the United States alone, while the 33 members of coming government have a UN stamp of approval. As the interim government, like the Governing Council, was not elected by the Iraqi people, its authority as a pro-democratic institution is questionable.
(3) The second unknown is whether the interim government can establish some kind of power balance. The Transitional Administrative Law says that the interim government is a federal body consisting of legislative, executive and judicial authorities. The National Congress (275 members) is the legislature. The presidency council (one president and two vice presidents) and the council of ministers (including the prime minister) constitute the executive offices, while the judiciary is made up of a higher judicial council and a federal supreme court, including its branches. Based on a “checks and balances”system among the legislature, judicial and executive bodies, the three branches of government, in theory, provide decentralized balance of powers inside a federal framework, which is based on the government of the United States.
(4) It is still to be seen whether the interim government can agree on a workable constitution and relinquish authority to the will of the Iraqi people once elections do take place. According to the Transitional Administrative Law, from the handover to the end of 2005, Iraq will hold several regional elections, including two for the national congress. There will also be a national referendum on the constitution. The UN will dispatch a group to facilitate the process, but it will not be easy.
(5) Iraq had long been under the role of a hereditary monarch and then a military general after a coup in 1958. Saddam Hussein had exercised heavy-handed rule, allowing no political opposition in the country. Most Iraqis have never experienced democratic rights and may indeed find it hard initially to adapt themselves to such a system. The interim government, therefore, faces a task to implement a political system that Iraqis are neither familiar with nor fully trusting of. Nor are the new leaders.
(6) Furthermore, numerous political factions, religious sects and tribes in Iraq remain deep-rooted. Kurds, in the mountainous north, accounting for 22 percent of Iraqi population, have a standing army of nearly 70,000. Many locals do not want to let go of the de facto autonomy they have had, under U. S. and British air protection, since the 1991 Gulf war. Hussein attempted to subjugate the Kurds under his role, so they have thus been very cooperative with the coalition army.
(7) Yet another variable is whether the interim government can independently exert state power. Despite the explicit support of the UN (supposed to represent the international community), the interim government is still on the leash of the United States, though perceptions may vary to what degree and for how long this will be the case. It is undeniable, nonetheless, that this new government will have limited power. The United States will keep its 138,000 troops in Iraq at least for the duration of the transitional period. The new Iraqi Government has expressed its wish to have, at minimum, a supervisory role in military operations after the turnover. But the Iraqi army and police force will continue to be largely under U. S. leadership. It is very possible, especially in the election of 2005, that there will be differences between the U. S. authorities and the Iraqi Government to regarding the rate at which the army is put under Iraq control.
(8) The security situation in Iraq is still very volatile. Since U. S. President George W. Bush declared the end to major combat on May 1 last year, terrorist bombings against coalition forces and UN personnel as well as Iraqi people have continued, worsening as of late. Several kidnappings of foreigners have occurred. Worse still, the prisoner abuse scandal has seriously eroded U. S. and British credibility in Iraq. Many Iraqis see occupation forces as an invader and occupier rather than liberator. The political vacuum in Iraq has allowed Al Qaeda to extend its violent campaign to Iraq. How the interim government will restore law and the people’s loyalty is yet to be seen.