The surprise handover in Iraq to an interim government Monday was both smart tactically and a sign of how dangerous and uncontrolled that country remains. The questions of whether elections in January will be meaningful and Iraqi sovereignty actually can be gained will be determined over the next six months. But the move Monday should be applauded.

A quick and secret ceremony to transfer authority does not make the United States look weak, an opinion offered regularly yesterday. It shows that this nation, with the prodding of the new Iraqi government, can solve problems in ways that do not involve brute force. This is not to downplay the Bush administration’s miscalculations about the reaction of the Iraqi people to the U.S. occupation, but to recognize that in the terrible situation that exists there, a surprise transfer of power, in word if not in deed, made sense.

But what now? While 138,000 U.S. troops are what stands between the interim government of Iraqi interim president, Ghazi Ajil al-Yawar, and chaos, not much can be done except to demonstrate that the planned elections are a sincere attempt to move Iraq toward self-rule. Steven A. Cook, a Middle East expert for the Council on Foreign Relations, observed astutely on the washingtonpost.com yesterday, “The prime minister, president and council of ministers [in Iraq] are acceptable but not legitimate. You will get legitimacy when Iraqis elect a new government in early 2005.”

One positive sign: Both the Arab League and the Islamic Conference Organization have endorsed the interim government and promised their support. Additionally, Prime Minister Iyad Allawi has suggested that a state of emergency in selected areas of Iraq would be used to try to control the insurgency, a step the provisional government couldn’t have made.

So much has gone wrong in Iraq that it is easy to assume everything has gone wrong, but this handover had to happen and, given the indications that more Iraqis are joining the insurgency, it had to happen soon. The United States can’t leave Iraq, but it must show signs of being willing to help Iraq toward independence to reduce the level of resentment that is building.

The attacks will continue and so will the resentment while the United States remains a controlling presence in Iraq. But just as bringing in NATO for new training programs, the handover reduces to some small degree the U.S. profile. It’s not the flower-strewn parade the administration may have expected, but the transfer yesterday was a necessary step in a long process.