Iraqis Celebrate Their Free Nation

From the AP:

Iraqi forces have assumed formal control of security in Baghdad and other cities after U.S. combat troops withdrew from urban areas. A countdown clock broadcast on Iraqi TV ticked to zero as the midnight deadline passed for combat troops to pull back.

Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has declared a public holiday and proclaimed June 30 as "National Sovereignty Day."

A senior adviser to al-Maliki says "the withdrawal of American troops is completed now from all cities after everything they sacrificed for the sake of security." Sadiq Al-Rikabi told The Associated Press on Tuesday that "we are now celebrating the restoration of sovereignty."

The move is required under a U.S.-Iraqi security pact.

Thanks to the intestinal fortitude of President George Bush who refused to let the terrorists win in Iraq, the strength of arms and will (and goodwill) of our armed forces, men and women, in Iraq, the desire of millions of Iraqis to be free from tyrants and terrorist overlords who fought back, who voted, who refused to give in, a few lonely voices in Congress, like Senator John McCain, the brilliant strategy of General David Petraeus, the support of millions of Americans denigrated by the left and their media handmaidens for the effort and our troops in absolutely frightening conditions, the staunch support of a few allies who contributed a lot long-term, notably Australia and Britain, and President Bush's negotiators and foreign policy experts who crafted a workable, approved security agreement with Iraq prior to his leaving office, the Iraqis were free to celebrate the beginning of an orderly pullout from Baghdad and the move to a less prominent role in Iraq's security as their own forces stand up. In what seems like a long time, but in reality is rather short compared to the post-WW2 timelines, our forces can take a well-deserved bow and hand control off to non-terrorist, non-tyrannical democracies to sail their own course into the future. They are now free to open a business and speak their mind without dreading the knock at the door. And they are free to trumpet their freedom to their unquiet neighbors to the east who also show their longing for the freedom their muslim brothers and sisters now enjoy.

And we can all hope the new Iraq/Iran War is a bloodless war where the Iraqis win merely by maintaining their freedom and encouraging their neighbors to embrace their own freedom. That's a war where everybody wins. Free democracies simply do not attack each other.

Headlines tomorrow expected to give Obama, who opposed the surge strategy of General Petraeus, George Bush, and John McCain up to its very end when success could no longer be denied by anyone in their right mind, credit for this much-anticipated hand-off of control to the Iraqi forces our men and women in the military, denigrated by the left for years, have trained, supported, and encouraged.

To be utterly blunt, paraphrasing President George Bush; Now that the Iraqis have stood up, our men and women can begin to stand down. When will we leave Iraq? When we have won.

Meanwhile in the shadows, Barack Hussein Obama (as he now wishes to be called when talking about the middle east) has his staff working on an executive order to hold terrorists indefinitely, continuing the policy of George Bush that he disparaged continually on the campaign trail.