Iraqis celebrate US withdrawal from cities and towns (News Feature)

By Kadhem al-Attabi Jun 30, 2009, 12:32 GMT

Baghdad - Iraqis filled the streets of Baghdad with dance and song on Tuesday in celebration of the withdrawal of US soldiers from the country's cities and towns.

The streets of the capital were brightly festooned for what the government has declared National Sovereignty Day, and throughout the city, a carnival atmosphere reigned. Families and friends sang, danced and passed around sweets in celebration.

Iraqi police and soldiers patrolling the city decorated their vehicles as they made their rounds. The government staged a massive military parade in central Baghdad's heavily fortified 'Green Zone.'

Huge crowds gathered in Baghdad's largest park on Monday night to celebrate the withdrawal. Expatriate Iraqi singers Abid Falek, Salah Hassan and Qasim Sultan returned to the capital to perform.

Throughout the following day 'Day of National Pride,' many Iraqi radio stations played back-to-back patriotic anthems. Their rousing strains could be heard from shops and cafes around the city.

'It is a historic day' speaker of the parliament Iyad al-Samarrai proclaimed.

'But,' he warned, 'Rebuilding our country will be an even bigger challenge than liberating it. Many countries were able to liberate themselves but failed at rebuilding.'

The government lifted the curfew for the day to allow the celebrations to continue late into the night. But as Iraqis cheered the US troops' departure, the spectre of violence was never far away.

On Monday, leading Sunni politician Jalil Matar was among at least nine people killed in a spate of bombings across the country.

His murder followed the assassination two weeks ago of Harith al-Obeidi, the leader of the Iraq's largest coalition of Sunni parties, and came at the end a string of attacks that have left hundreds dead in recent weeks.

'We are on high alert after the US withdrawal,' 26-year-old policeman Ali Hussein told the German Press Agency dpa. 'But for us to succeed, the Iraqi people must show discipline and respect for the security forces who are working to protect them and secure the country.'

Iraqi security forces are engaged in their biggest deployment since the US-led invasion of the country six years ago. More than 160,000 Iraqi police and soldiers deployed to Baghdad alone, and tens of thousands of others deployed to cities around the country.

They were ubiquitous amid the celebrations on Tuesday. In addition to the usual police patrols and checkpoints, police lined the streets and alleys of the capital and surrounded government buildings.

Their presence was a reminder that the country's troubles were not yet over. Indeed, more than 130,000 US soldiers will remain on Iraqi soil. Some will continue to serve in Iraqi units, even in urban areas.

US combat troops will remain in the area around Mosul, for example, one of the most ethnically diverse and volatile regions of the country. And the US military will continue to secure Iraq's borders and airspace.

But the US soldiers will be less visible. For Iraqis like 54-year-old civil servant Talib Kadhem, that is 'a great achievement' and cause for celebration.

'Seeing US troops in the Iraqi cities gave the impression that Iraq was still under occupation,' he told dpa.

Vowing to cooperate with the Iraqi security forces, Kadhem said he expected the withdrawal 'to enhance stability in the country and to give the Iraqi forces the chance to exercise their national role.'

Iraqi member of parliament Batsem Sharif agreed, and hailed the US military's pledge to withdraw completely from the country within two years.

'The presence of US troops on Iraqi soil gives a pretext to those who would adopt violence,' he said.

If so, and if the lethal attacks that have wracked Iraqi cities and towns over the past months and years do subside as the US soldiers leave, Iraqis will indeed have reason to celebrate.

But for the moment, Baghdad remains on high alert. While the military patrols may have been bedecked with flags and patriotic slogans on Tuesday, they were still military patrols.