Sign up with GoogleIraq Takes Control of Green Zone From U.S.
Key excerpts for an Article by FoxNews.com
"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.
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.
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
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,474847,00.html
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Key excerpts for an Article by FoxNews.com
"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.
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.
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
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,474847,00.html
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