BAGHDAD It was just a week ago that two of his brothers were killed in a bombing in a crowded market, but Haider Abbas Ali put his sorrow aside Monday to celebrate the departure of most U.S. troops from the capital and other Iraqi cities.
"Their presence has brought nothing good. It is long past the time for the Americans to leave," said Ali, who draped himself in an Iraqi flag as he danced with friends prior to Iraqi security forces taking control Tuesday.
Thousands of Iraqis gathered in central Baghdad's Zawra Park for a concert to mark the milestone that is part of a security pact that will also require all U.S. combat forces to leave Iraq by Aug. 31, 2010. A countdown clock on a state television channel ticked down at midnight.
The Iraqi government has declared Tuesday National Sovereignty Day, six years after the U.S.-led invasion that toppled dictator Saddam Hussein.
Earlier Monday, the U.S. military handed to the Iraqis control of the former defense ministry complex that had been serving as a joint base for U.S. and Iraqi forces.
U.S. troops weren't in sight in the capital Monday. Instead, Iraqi police and soldiers flooded the streets their vehicles covered in plastic flowers and streamers. Troops blared martial music and patriotic songs from speakers mounted at checkpoints throughout the city.
Gen. David Petraeus, the top U.S. commander in the Middle East, offered a vote of confidence to Iraqi forces. He noted that despite a recent spate of bombings, the average daily number of attacks throughout Iraq remained at 10 to 15, compared with 160 in June 2007.
"While certainly there will be challenges, we feel confident in the Iraqi security forces continuing the process of taking over the security tasks in their own country," Petraeus said in Egypt, the Associated Press reported.
Some U.S. troops will remain in the cities as trainers and advisers, but most of the 130,000 Americans in Iraq have been relocated to large bases outside urban centers.
While Iraq celebrated the switch-over, violence continued. The U.S. military announced Monday that a soldier was killed in combat on Sunday, but his name was not released. More than 4,300 U.S. troops have died in Iraq since the war began in 2003.
Tahseen al-Sheikhly, an Iraqi government spokesman, said U.S. forces will not completely disappear from Iraq's cities, but the days that they conduct raids and other combat operations are over.
"We are grateful for what the U.S. military did in toppling Saddam Hussein's regime and fighting the militias and al-Qaeda," al-Sheikhly said. "What we need now is their help rebuilding our country."
Many Iraqis at the Zawra park celebration said they are glad to see Americans out of their neighborhoods, but some remain nervous about whether the Iraqi security forces are up to the task.
"I pray our police and army will be able to provide us security," said Kareem Abdul Hassan, 56. "But I still feel uneasy about the situation."
"Their presence has brought nothing good. It is long past the time for the Americans to leave," said Ali, who draped himself in an Iraqi flag as he danced with friends prior to Iraqi security forces taking control Tuesday.
Thousands of Iraqis gathered in central Baghdad's Zawra Park for a concert to mark the milestone that is part of a security pact that will also require all U.S. combat forces to leave Iraq by Aug. 31, 2010. A countdown clock on a state television channel ticked down at midnight.
The Iraqi government has declared Tuesday National Sovereignty Day, six years after the U.S.-led invasion that toppled dictator Saddam Hussein.
Earlier Monday, the U.S. military handed to the Iraqis control of the former defense ministry complex that had been serving as a joint base for U.S. and Iraqi forces.
U.S. troops weren't in sight in the capital Monday. Instead, Iraqi police and soldiers flooded the streets their vehicles covered in plastic flowers and streamers. Troops blared martial music and patriotic songs from speakers mounted at checkpoints throughout the city.
Gen. David Petraeus, the top U.S. commander in the Middle East, offered a vote of confidence to Iraqi forces. He noted that despite a recent spate of bombings, the average daily number of attacks throughout Iraq remained at 10 to 15, compared with 160 in June 2007.
"While certainly there will be challenges, we feel confident in the Iraqi security forces continuing the process of taking over the security tasks in their own country," Petraeus said in Egypt, the Associated Press reported.
Some U.S. troops will remain in the cities as trainers and advisers, but most of the 130,000 Americans in Iraq have been relocated to large bases outside urban centers.
While Iraq celebrated the switch-over, violence continued. The U.S. military announced Monday that a soldier was killed in combat on Sunday, but his name was not released. More than 4,300 U.S. troops have died in Iraq since the war began in 2003.
Tahseen al-Sheikhly, an Iraqi government spokesman, said U.S. forces will not completely disappear from Iraq's cities, but the days that they conduct raids and other combat operations are over.
"We are grateful for what the U.S. military did in toppling Saddam Hussein's regime and fighting the militias and al-Qaeda," al-Sheikhly said. "What we need now is their help rebuilding our country."
Many Iraqis at the Zawra park celebration said they are glad to see Americans out of their neighborhoods, but some remain nervous about whether the Iraqi security forces are up to the task.
"I pray our police and army will be able to provide us security," said Kareem Abdul Hassan, 56. "But I still feel uneasy about the situation."
