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January 1, 2009
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| Q5echo |
...was the day Iraq became sovereign.
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Iraq Takes Control of Green Zone From U.S.
Thursday, January 01, 2009
Associated Press
BAGHDAD — The U.S. formally transferred control of the Green Zone to Iraqi authorities Thursday in a pair of ceremonies that also handed back Saddam Hussein's former palace. Iraq's prime minister said he will propose making Jan. 1 a holiday marking the restoration of sovereignty.
Under the new security agreement between Washington and Baghdad to replace a U.N. mandate for foreign troops in Iraq, the Iraqi government also now has control of American troops' operations and of the country's airspace.
The moves came amid a dramatic fall in violence over the past year. However, insurgents still stage daily attacks and there are worries insurgents may try to expand the fight now that U.S. troops cannot take unilateral action.
Two Iraqi soldiers and three policemen were killed in attacks Thursday. In the northern city of Kirkuk, Iraqi and U.S. troops killed three suspected Al Qaeda gunmen during a raid, police said.
Many of the changes inaugurated on New Year's Day won't bring immediately visible results. The Green Zone, the country's government and military command center, remains ringed by concrete blast walls and off limits to most Iraqis. U.S. troops still man its checkpoints, although now as trainers rather than leaders.
But the Americans have moved out of the Republican Palace, the sprawling former headquarters of Saddam Hussein's regime that they took over shortly after the 2003 invasion. Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki formerly took control of the building Thursday and exulted over the security pact under which U.S. troops are to leave the country by 2012.
"A year ago, the mere thought of forces withdrawing from Iraq was considered a dream," al-Maliki told reporters afterward. "The dream that no one had the right to think about became true."
He called for making Jan. 1 a national holiday called "Sovereignty Day." Iraq already officially observes New Year's Day as a holiday.
Also on Thursday, British troops turned over to Iraqi officials the airport in Basra, the country's second-largest city. Britain says it will withdraw its approximately 4,000 soldiers in Iraq by May 31.
"Iraq is taking another step toward the future, signaling to its citizens and the international community that it is indeed a new day for sovereign Iraq," U.S. Army Col. Steven Ferrari said at a separate ceremony handing over control of the Green Zone.
The Green Zone was the most potent symbol of the U.S. invasion and occupation.
The 4-square-mile (10-square-kilometer) area along the Tigris River is formally called the International Zone. It's often sarcastically called "The Bubble" because the foreigners who live and work there often have little contact with the violent city on the other side of the 13-foot-high (4-meter-high), reinforced concrete blast walls around the perimeter.
But the sense of security is only relative. The zone was a favorite target for rockets and mortars fired by insurgents. In 2007, the attacks were so heavy at times that the U.S. Embassy ordered its workers to wear flak jackets and helmets anywhere outside.
Asked whether insurgents could resume attacks now that the area is under Iraqi control, Ferrari said, "Common sense says they'll probably test the Green Zone."
The walls and the seemingly endless series of checkpoints inside have been worrisomely porous. A suicide bomber attacked the parliament's dining hall in 2007, killing one person. Suicide vests wired with explosives have been found on the grounds.
Although Baghdad is calmer now, the Green Zone is full of unsettling reminders of war. Duck-and-cover bunkers dot sidewalks under lush date palms, and walls bear signs warning drivers not to stop for any reason.
Even before U.S. troops took control of the area in 2003 and put up the walls, the neighborhood had an air of intimidation. Saddam and his sons had lavish residences there and motorists who drove through understood they shouldn't stop.
Now, Iraqi officials have their eyes on making the area accessible, inspiring and educational, even though it's not yet clear when they will feel confident enough to take down the walls.
"It depends. There are many steps to take," Iraqi Security Minister Sherwan al-Waili said when asked about prospects for opening the zone.
In July, the National Investment Commission approved plans to build a $100 million luxury hotel in the zone.
And in the next couple of months, the Iraqi High Tribunal plans to open a museum in the zone detailing the brutality of Saddam's regime. It will include a replica of the hole-in-the-ground hideout where Saddam Hussein was captured in 2004, two years before he was executed, tribunal head Arif Abdul-Razzak Al-Shaheen told the newspaper Asharq al-Awsat last month.
Violence around Iraq plunged in 2008, with attacks declining to an average of 10 a day from 180 a year ago. The murder rate in November was less than 1 per 100,000 people — far lower than many cities in the world.
U.S. military deaths in Iraq plunged by two-thirds in 2008 from the previous year, a reflection of the improving security following the American counterinsurgency campaign and Al Qaeda's slow retreat from the battlefield.
According to a tally by The Associated Press, at least 314 U.S. soldiers died in Iraq during 2008, down from 904 in 2007. In all, at least 4,221 U.S. military personnel have died in Iraq since the war began in 2003. |
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| The17sss |
You'll be hearing crickets in this forum from those who have wished for such a thing like this to fail. You know it's a noteworthy thing when the media is ignoring it too; that's what they do when anything positive happens in Iraq.
One thing I read the other day that does concern me though is that part of this agreement that ends immunity for contractors working for the Defense Department or U.S. Military. The Iraqi public is happy about it because of the Blackwater debacle in 2007, but the American side has apparantly been very objectionable to it.
| quote: | They do not wish to rely on Iraqi notions of justice and jurisprudence, especially in certain areas where their contractors have operated to protect American interests. The State Department has warned the Pentagon and the White House that the Iraqis will almost certainly use that new authority quickly and that American citizens will soon find themselves under arrest in Iraq, which would force the departure of security contractors and others.
Blackwater does a significant amount of work in personal protection, and they usually hire retired or inactive service members for these tasks. Their presence allowed the US to complete its mission with better security while deploying fewer troops by paying volunteers to serve through the private sector. The wisdom of that policy has been under debate and will continue to generate controversy, but the fact is that their sudden departure will require a greater use of American troops to replace them. |
If Blackwater and other security contractors decide to stop doing business in Iraq, the withdrawal will necessarily have to slow. Troops designated for return home will have to get detailed to protection assignments for diplomats currently protected by contractors; Obama will not have the option of leaving them unprotected. The other option, hiring Iraqi contractors, could prove disastrous, as the UN discovered when their security personnel helped attack their compound and killed over 20 of its staff. |
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| Lebezniatnikov |
| MISSION ACCOMPLISHED! |
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| Fir3start3r |
| Definitely a huge watermark in Iraqi history. :D |
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| Lebezniatnikov |
| quote: | Originally posted by Fir3start3r
Definitely a huge watermark in Iraqi history. :D |
Definitely?
From the Post:
| quote: | The handover of the Green Zone from U.S. to Iraqi control Thursday presented such a powerful symbol of the waning American presence in Iraq that it would have been nearly impossible for both sides not to mark it with a formal ceremony.
They did, but the ceremony wasn't much. A podium was set up in the middle of a dirty street. Five small balloons and some tinsel decorated a seating area. The American ambassador and the top commander of U.S. troops didn't show up. Neither did Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.
Maliki instead attended an unannounced event where he watched what might have been one of the most stirring signs of the new Iraq: the raising of the Iraqi flag over what just a day earlier had been the U.S. Embassy. The decision to keep reporters away from this ceremony hinted at the unease and uncertainty both sides feel about the transition. |
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dy..._print/asection
And Josh Marshall's reaction:
| quote: | | Almost goes without saying (but it shouldn't) that the transfer is largely a formality and U.S. troops are still providing security in and around the Green Zone. |
http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/ar..._maliki_gre.php
We'll wait to see of course, but it is amusing to see the "Mission Accomplished" folks declaring the American role in Iraq to be officially over when all appearances suggest it is still anything but.
Oh, and silence from critics of the war? We wanted this handover to happen (for real) years ago! |
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| Krypton |
| quote: | Originally posted by The17sss
You'll be hearing crickets in this forum from those who have wished for such a thing like this to fail. You know it's a noteworthy thing when the media is ignoring it too; that's what they do when anything positive happens in Iraq. |
Yea, 4000 American lives lost, hundreds of thousands Iraqi dead, and millions made refugees...If that is "freedom" then don't be surprised if most people tell us to shove it up our asses......:rolleyes: |
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| The17sss |
| quote: | Originally posted by Krypton
Yea, 4000 American lives lost, hundreds of thousands Iraqi dead, and millions made refugees...If that is "freedom" then don't be surprised if most people tell us to shove it up our asses......:rolleyes: |
it's like, because it didn't happen in your acceptable time frame, and more than 0 soldiers died, no matter what happens from this point on is all just a waste in your opinion |
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| Lebezniatnikov |
| quote: | Originally posted by The17sss
it's like, because it didn't happen in your acceptable time frame, and more than 0 soldiers died, no matter what happens from this point on is all just too little, too late in your opinion |
I think that's fixed to better represent where he stands. |
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| jerZ07002 |
| quote: | Originally posted by Krypton
Yea, 4000 American lives lost, hundreds of thousands Iraqi dead, and millions made refugees...If that is "freedom" then don't be surprised if most people tell us to shove it up our asses......:rolleyes: |
i'm certainly no iraq war supporter, but people die and struggles occur in order to achieve that which we call freedom. nothing worth anything is free in life, and those things that humans desire certainly don't come easily. sometimes you need to step back before you can move forward.
For society as a whole, some things are worth more than a certain number of human lives. Finding the point at which society values that 'thing' in terms of human lives is the ultimate struggle. i know this proposition is morally unappealing to you, but this is how humans function. |
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| Krypton |
| quote: | Originally posted by The17sss
it's like, because it didn't happen in your acceptable time frame, and more than 0 soldiers died, no matter what happens from this point on is all just a waste in your opinion |
No, it's like, because it was founded on lies, violated international law, and compromised our constitutional ethics, yes, it is a bloody BLOODY waste of a trillion dollars. The millions of destroyed lives is just the start. |
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| Krypton |
| quote: | Originally posted by jerZ07002
i'm certainly no iraq war supporter, but people die and struggles occur in order to achieve that which we call freedom. nothing worth anything is free in life, and those things that humans desire certainly don't come easily. sometimes you need to step back before you can move forward.
For society as a whole, some things are worth more than a certain number of human lives. Finding the point at which society values that 'thing' in terms of human lives is the ultimate struggle. i know this proposition is morally unappealing to you, but this is how humans function. |
Tell that to the millions of Iraqi's whose lives have been destroyed. They'd most likely tell you to shove "freedom" right up your ass (no disrespect intended)...;)
Instead of forced freedom on people, how about helping those already fighting for their freedom? How about Chechens in Chechnya? How about the Tamils of Sri Lanka? How about the Palestinians? All these people are fighting for their freedom. Why not help them? |
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| DJ Damerchi |
| quote: | Originally posted by Krypton
Tell that to the millions of Iraqi's whose lives have been destroyed. They'd most likely tell you to shove "freedom" right up your ass (no disrespect intended)...;)
Instead of forced freedom on people, how about helping those already fighting for their freedom? How about Chechens in Chechnya? How about the Tamils of Sri Lanka? How about the Palestinians? All these people are fighting for their freedom. Why not help them? |
because their main export is asparagus |
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