Sovereignty’s symbolism cannot be overrated. The United States is scheduled to turn over sovereignty to the Iraqis on June 30 of this year, more than one year after first invading the country.

One year, one month, 677 American deaths and countless (truly countless, as the military has no number) Iraqi deaths later.

Good intentions aside, the military is having a hard time fostering the goodwill Americans think they deserve in Iraq.

Especially with stories like that of Haider Abdel-Wahab — a 6 year-old who was dug out of the rubble of his house outside Fallujah, which was crushed by an American attack.

His father died of a bullet wound to the head, and his mother was shot and killed while hanging laundry, according to an April 14 article in the New York Times.

Yup, he’ll grow up to love Americans.

But the trouble with handing over sovereignty is it may be symbolic — and nothing else.

The Iraqi Governing Council, which was picked by the United State to be the transitional authority in Iraq, said it was never asked about major military moves carried out in the past weeks.

“The disregard of the council role and its lack of participation in taking decisions,” said council member Naseer Kamel Chaderji in a letter to council president, puts the council members “in an embarrassing situation vis-a-vis the Iraqi people who ask what the council has done for the interests of the people.”

The council said it would have advised against attacking Sunni insurgents in Fallujah and Ramadi, and it would have sent in a delegation to negotiate an end to the offensive, according to the same New York Times article.

Whether or not this would have been the best method of dealing with the situation, it’s telling that the council wasn’t allowed to have a say in the situation — a council that’s supposed to be a “transitional authority” representing the Iraqi people.

Council members have said they often learn about American decisions through the news media.

The council has also asked for a cease-fire, protection of civilians, an end to collective punishment and a plan to deal with those who act outside the law.

The real problem, though, is that in not listening to the Iraqi Governing Council, the United States has set itself up as an opposition force to the Iraqis rather than a force working with them.

What will sovereignty mean if the United States still has a military force that doesn’t consult the local government? As a result, the United States is alienating the very people it set out to help and setting the stage for continual disaster in Iraq.