This is a day a lot of people have been waiting for: U.S. troops are beginning a pull-out of Iraq.
Iraqi forces assume formal control of Baghdad and other cities on Tuesday after American troops hand over security in urban areas in a defining step toward ending the U.S. combat role in the country.
Fireworks, not bombings, colored the Baghdad skyline late Monday, and thousands attended a party in a park where singers performed patriotic songs. Loudspeakers at police stations and military checkpoints played recordings of similar tunes throughout the day, as Iraqi military vehicles decorated with flowers and national flags patrolled the capital.
“All of us are happy — Shiites, Sunnis and Kurds on this day,” Waleed al-Bahadili said as he celebrated at the park. “The Americans harmed and insulted us too much.”
Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki declared a public holiday and proclaimed June 30 as “National Sovereignty Day.”
Iraq still has a long way to go before it is a peaceful functioning democracy, but it won’t be one until Iraqis control their own country. We can’t do it for them.