When Iraqis rose this morning, there was more economic opportunity in their nation than there has been for more than a decade. The 14-0 decision by the United Nations Security Council on Thursday to lift economic sanctions means Iraqi oil exports should soon resume. This removes the isolation resulting from the imposition of economic sanctions following Saddam Husseins 1990 invasion of Kuwait and allows Iraq to again participate in world economic markets. It should begin soon with the immediate sale of 8 million barrels of Iraqi oil being stored in the Turkish port of Ceyhan. The fact that the Bush administration pushed so hard for this agreement should demonstrate to impatient Democrats and even some Republicans on Capitol Hill that the United States is committed to avoiding a long-term occupation of Iraq. Getting sanctions lifted is a big step toward turning over control of Iraq to Iraqis. In testimony before a Senate committee Thursday, administration officials rightly declined to give an exact time period of how long U.S. forces would be in Iraq. Nobody knows. Its certainly not likely to be eight years, such as has been the case in Bosnia. Yet the stakes are as high. A rebuilding success in Iraq will result in and include a thriving democracy in a part of the world thought of more as a hotbed for terrorism than of freedom and economic success, even with the flow of oil. Had the U.N. gotten its way, the international body would have taken the lead role in rebuilding Iraq. The chances would have been very slim that a rebuilding effort dominated by blue helmets would have achieved success even close to the timeliness of a U.S. and British-led effort. Based on its pre-war behavior, the United Nations does not have the credibility to be in charge of rebuilding Iraq. It does not have a record of success in being able to keep peace in troubled nations, much less rebuild a country that has suffered decades of tyrannical torture by Saddam Hussein. One of the most important results of Thursdays vote will be the phasing out of the U.N. oil-for-food account, which, as part of the sanctions, required that the countrys oil revenues be used only for humanitarian supplies. This account had been rife with corruption and little accountability. The vote requires $1 billion from the account to be transferred to a newly created Development Fund for Iraq. The fund will be overseen by the U.S. and Britain and will be used to rebuild the country.Thursdays decision also is a victory for sensible and firm negotiation. The U.S. and Britain got what was needed to build on the sacrifices made to liberate Iraq from Saddam. Yet, there was compromise in areas that would not endanger central coalition objectives, such as allowing U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan to appoint a special representative to work with the Americans and British on the creation of a new Iraqi government. The agreement also calls for the eventual re-entrance into the country of U.N. arms inspectors and reiterates that Iraq must meet its disarmament obligations. Since the United States introduced the resolution two weeks ago, the text saw more than 90 changes. The end result is a triumph for the Bush administration, which again has showed that negotiating with and from strength can achieve monumental diplomatic success.Most important, Thursdays vote means a brighter future and plentiful opportunities for the long-oppressed Iraqi people.