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US forces pull out of Iraq's cities

Jun 30 2009

US forces pull out of Iraq's cities

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Arab World

By Agencies

The US withdrawal has sparked celebrations in Iraq [AFP]

Iraqi forces have assumed formal control of the capital, Baghdad, and other cities, six years after US-led coalition forces invaded Iraq.

US troops began withdrawing from the country's major cities and towns as the midnight deadline passed on Tuesday for troops to hand over security to Iraqi forces.

"The withdrawal of American troops is completed now from all cities, after everything they sacrificed for the sake of security," Sadiq al-Rikabi, a senior adviser to Nuri al-Maliki, the Iraqi prime minister, said.

He told the Associated Press news agency on Tuesday that Iraq is "now celebrating the restoration of sovereignty". The Pentagon did not comment.

Al-Maliki described the US withdrawal as a "turning point" for the country and declared Tuesday the country's National Sovereignty Day and a public holiday.

'Too insulted'

"The problem is American propaganda started at the beginning to control the city and this divided everyone ... unfortunately the politicians implemented this policy - the poliiticans who came with the Americans in 2003."

US troops levels in Iraq

2003: 175,000 - original invasion force
2004: 108,000 - US starts withdrawal
2007: 168,000 - increase in violence
2009: 131,000 - troop levels trimmed
Early 2010: 128,000
August 2010: 35,000 - 50,000
2011: Complete withdrawal

Fireworks continued to light up the sky over Baghdad into the early hours on Tuesday, after thousands of Iraqis, an unprecedented number for a public post-war event, attended a party in a park where singers performed patriotic songs.

"All of us are happy - Shias, Sunnis and Kurds on this day ... the Americans harmed and insulted us too much," Waleed al-Bahadili, an Iraqi attending the celebrations, told the AFP news agency.

Many Iraqis ignored an appeal by Tariq al-Hashemi, the Iraqi vice president, to stay away from crowded places during the US pullback, after more than 250 people were killed in bombings over the past 10 days.

Scattered bases

Motorcycles have been banned indefinitely in Baghdad after they were used last week in three separate attacks, killing more than 100 people.

Status of Forces Agreement (Sofa)

US forces will partner with the Iraqi army to continue to keep roads clear of road side bombs
Logistical convoys belonging to the US military will move only at night
US advisory teams will be embedded with units of the iraqi army and police
US forces will continue to carry out combat operations in rural areas only with the approval of iraqi officials
No detention or search operations will be carried out without a legal warrant from an Iraqi judge

"Our expectation is that maybe some criminals will try to continue their attacks," said Major General Abdul Karim Khalaf, the interior ministry's operations director and spokesman.

Despite the formal pullback, some US troops will remain in cities to train and advise Iraqi forces. US forces are also ready to return if asked.

The US military is to continue combat operations in rural areas and near the border with the permission of the Iraqi government.

The US has not said how many troops will be in the cities in advisory roles, but the vast majority of the more than 130,000 US troops forces remaining in the country will be in large bases scattered outside cities.