A myth has developed that Iraqis aren't grateful for their liberation from Saddam. So it's worth noting that the leaders of Iraq's new interim government have been explicit and gracious in their thanks, not that you've heard this from the U.S. media.

First in Arabic and then in English, Prime Minister Iyad Allawi said in his inaugural address to the Iraqi people last Tuesday that "I would like to record our profound gratitude and appreciation to the U.S.-led international coalition, which has made great sacrifices for the liberation of Iraq." In his own remarks, President Ghazi al-Yawer said: "Before I end my speech, I would like us to remember our martyrs who fell in defense of freedom and honor, as well as our friends who fell in the battle for the liberation of Iraq."

Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari told the U.N. Security Council much the same thing last Thursday: "We Iraqis are grateful to the coalition who helped liberate us from the persecution of Saddam Hussein's regime. We thank President Bush and Prime Minister Blair for their dedication and commitment."

We thought our readers might like to know.

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The U.N. Security Council voted 15-0 on Tuesday to adopt a U.S.-British resolution that formally ends the occupation of Iraq on June 30 and authorizes U.S.-led troops to keep the peace.

In a packed council chamber, the 15-nation body endorsed a "sovereign interim government" in Iraq, following weeks of negotiations and a last-minute addition by the United States and Britain on military policy that France and Germany had demanded.

"With today's vote, we acknowledge an important milestone. By June 30, Iraq will reassert its sovereignty, a step forward on the path toward a democratically elected government," said U.S. Ambassador John Negroponte, who will become ambassador to Iraq at the end of the month.

His British colleague, Emyr Jones Parry, told the council "The promise is great -- a stable, federal, democratic, pluralistic and unified Iraq where there is full respect for human rights -- a stark contrast to the past." ...

BAGHDAD, Iraq - Iraqi officials declared Tuesday that the interim government has assumed full control of the country's oil industry ahead of the June 30 handover of sovereignty from the U.S.-led occupation administration.

"Today the most important natural resource has been returned to Iraqis to serve all Iraqis," Prime Minister Iyad Allawi said. "I'm pleased to announce that full sovereignty and full control on oil industry has been handed over to the oil ministry today and to the new Iraqi government as of today."

The announcement came as Allawi and Oil Minister Thamir Ghadbhan toured the al-Doura oil refinery in southern Baghdad.

After meeting and shaking hands with the refinery workers, the two ministers thanked oil sector workers.

"We are totally now in control, there are no more advisers," Ghadbhan said. "We are running the show, the oil policies will be implemented 100 percent by Iraqis."

Allawi said the handover of the oil ministry before June 30 reflects "our full confidence in the oil minister. It's evidence that oil ministry has worked perfectly."

Referring to the former regime of Saddam Hussein (news - web sites), Allawi said that "in the past, Iraqi oil was used in building palaces, buying weapons to achieve one person's goals."...

BAGHDAD, Iraq - Iraq (news - web sites)'s new prime minister announced an agreement Monday by nine political parties to dissolve their militias, integrating some of the estimated 102,000 fighters into the army and police and pensioning off the rest to firm up government control ahead of the transfer of sovereignty.

The plan does not cover the most important militia fighting coalition forces — the al-Mahdi Army of radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr — or smaller groups that have sprouted across the country since the collapse of Saddam Hussein (news - web sites)'s regime in April 2003.

Nevertheless, the announcement by Prime Minister Iyad Allawi is seen as a significant step toward extending the control of the central government that will take power at the end of the month. The agreement, if it works, would also significantly reduce the threat of civil war after the U.S.-led occupation formally ends.

Previous attempts to abolish the militias failed, but the current drive may have a better chance of succeeding because of the reintegration plan for the fighters and the fact that most are controlled by groups that are part of the new government.

"We want to disband the Badr Brigade and to enable its members to join the new Iraqi army and police forces and serve the new Iraq," said Dr. Haitham al-Husseini, a top official in the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq, which controls the 15,000-strong Badr Brigade, a Shiite group.

Jassim al-Hilfi, a member of the central committee of the Iraqi Communist Party, said his group was willing to disband its armed components because "we want to be part of the new Iraq."...