Not THAT kind of Republican

Now it appears that the US isn't planning to leave the 'Republican Palace' any time soon, sovereignty or no sovereignty.

Commenting on another of the touchy issues, Yawar asserted that the United States will not be allowed to keep Hussein's main palace as part of the future U.S. Embassy in Baghdad. Since the war that toppled Hussein, the ornate building has been used as headquarters for much of the Coalition Provisional Authority under U.S. administrator for Iraq L. Paul Bremer and part of the U.S. military command. With good office space at a premium in Baghdad, U.S. officials have expressed a desire to continue using it as an annex to the embassy.

"There is no talk of inviting the United States to keep the Republican Palace as an embassy supplement," Yawar told reporters. "We have asked that the Republican Palace be vacated at the fastest opportunity for us to use it as Iraqis, as a Republican Palace or a museum. Whatever we do with it is a matter for Iraqi sovereignty. It is a symbol of Iraqi sovereignty."

The US, meanwhile, continues to act like the tenants of a rent-controlled apartment.