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US withdraws from Iraqi cities despite violence

FILE - In this Wednesday, May 27, 2009 file photo, a US soldier carries a bed frame in Camp Carver on the outskirts of Madain, about 15 miles southeast of Baghdad, Iraq. U.S. troops will be out of Iraqi cities by Tuesday in the first step toward winding down the American war effort by the end of 2011. (AP Photo/Hadi Mizban, File)

ENLARGE PHOTO

In this photo taken June 2, 2009, U.S. Army Sgt. Kelly Gaskey, 51, from Cleveland, Tenn. carries his rucksack as his company prepares to leave a combat outpost in Baghdad, Iraq. U.S. troops will be out of Iraqi cities by Tuesday in the first step toward winding down the American war effort by the end of 2011. (AP Photo/ Maya Alleruzzo)

ENLARGE PHOTO

FILE - In this June 22, 2009 file photo, A U.S. Army soldier carries American flags used at a ceremony in Baghdad, Iraq. U.S. troops will be out of Iraqi cities by Tuesday in the first step toward winding down the American war effort by the end of 2011. (AP Photo/ Karim Kadim, File)

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By KIM GAMEL, The Associated Press Updated 6:26 PM Sunday, June 28, 2009

BAGHDAD — Death squads roamed the streets, slaughtering members of the rival Muslim sect. Bombs rocked Baghdad daily — until thousands of U.S. troops poured in two years ago, establishing neighborhood bases and taking control of the Iraqi capital and other cities.

By Tuesday, all but a small number of American soldiers will have left Baghdad and other urban areas, handing over security to Iraqi soldiers and police still largely untested as an independent fighting force.

State television has been showing a countdown clock with a fluttering Iraqi flag and the words "June 30: National Sovereignty Day."

If the Iraqis can hold down violence, it will show the country is finally on the road to stability. If they fail, Iraq faces new bloodshed, straining a nation still divided along sectarian and ethnic lines.

The top U.S. commander in Iraq, Gen. Ray Odierno, said he was confident it was the right time for the move.

"I do believe they're ready," he told CNN in an interview. "We've seen constant improvement in the security force, we've seen constant improvement in governance."

Privately, many U.S. officers worry the Iraqis will be overwhelmed if violence surges, having relied for years on the U.S. for everything from firepower to bottled water.

Many Iraqis also fear more violence after a spike in bombings and shootings last week that killed more than 250 people. U.S. and Iraqi officials have warned they expect more violence as insurgents try to stage a show of force in the days surroundingthe withdrawal.

"The Americans are pulling out but they haven't accomplished the task that they came for, which is defeating terrorism," said Miriwan Kerim, a 32-year-old watch peddler in Kirkuk. "The security situation is still fragile so the withdrawal will not restore us to square one but to square zero."

President Barack Obama insists there's no turning back. Handing over control of the cities brings him one step closer to fulfilling his campaign pledge to end an unpopular war that has claimed the lives of more than 4,300 U.S. troops and tens of thousands of Iraqis.

Despite public unease, Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki appears eager to see the Americans leave and has urged Iraqis to hold steady against continued violence. Ahead of national elections next year, al-Maliki is portraying himself as the leader who defeated terrorism and ended the U.S. occupation.

He has declared June 30 a national holiday, telling a national television audience Saturday that the U.S. departure will "bolster Iraq's security" and show the world that Iraqis can manage their own affairs.

Many Iraqis are also eager for the U.S. occupation to end, although more than 130,000 American troops remain in the country.

"It is good to see the departure of American troops as the first phase of ending the foreign occupation of our country," said Ibrahim Ali, 26, a teacher from Kut. "Our troops are able to protect Iraqi cities, but they need more training and naval and air support."

Others fear the security forces, especially the police, are still under the influence of Shiite militants and will not enforce the law evenhandedly.

The withdrawal, required under the U.S.-Iraqi security pact that took effect this year, marks the first major step toward withdrawing all American forces from the country by Dec. 31, 2011. Obama has said all combat troops will be gone by the end of August 2010.

American soldiers will remain in the cities to train and advise Iraqi forces as well as protect U.S. diplomatic missions and provincial reconstruction teams. With only hours to go, U.S. and Iraqi officials were still haggling over numbers and locations.

Combat operations will continue in rural areas but only with permission of the Iraqi government. U.S. troops will return to the cities only if asked.

The absence of tens of thousands of American troops who once lived, fought and patrolled the streets of Baghdad and other cities will be a major challenge for Iraqi forces.

With the deadline approaching, U.S. troops have been packing up their gear and moving to bases outside the cities, such as the giant Camp Victory complex on the western edge of Baghdad or Forward Operating Base Marez on the outskirts of Mosul.

Days before the deadline, streets of Baghdad were crowded with cars and pedestrians as music blared from the shops. Iraqi police and soldiers manned checkpoints, inspecting identity cards and checking vehicles for weapons.

Not a single U.S. soldier could be seen on the streets in many Sunni and Shiite neighborhoods.

That was a far cry from the early years of the U.S. mission, when heavily armed U.S. soldiers, tanks and other armored vehicles rumbled through the streets bearing signs warning Iraqis they could be shot if they came too close.

The withdrawal from the cities marks an end to the U.S. troop surge strategy of 2007, when the U.S. rushed thousands of reinforcements to Iraq to stem fighting between Sunnis and Shiites.

Before the surge, the U.S. tried moving troops out of the cities, handing over security to the Iraqis. American units would patrol Baghdad by day and return to bases outside the city at night, leaving control of the streets to death squads and militias.

The surge changed all that. U.S. soldiers moved out of giant bases and into former schools, clinics and police stations where they lived and worked round-the-clock with their Iraqi partners.

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