The Wire

In a shock announcement, the US and Iraqi authorities have declared not only that the handover expected on June 30, had been moved forward….but speaking from the NATO summit in Istanbul, the leaders said that the Iraqi authorities have assumed power and the moves for total handover have commenced. The decision was greeted by a muted response from Baghdad, with the Prime Minister refusing to comment until the last hour. Sharona Coutts spoke to Dr Andrew Vincent, the Director of Macquarie University’s Centre for Middle East and North African Studies.