US Era in Iraq to an End: Victory Base Back to Baghdad’s Authority

The US occupation era in Iraq is coming to an end.

US occupation returned Friday its biggest base in Iraq to the Iraqi government today, a huge compound near Baghdad airport that housed the American war operations centre and hosted a captive Saddam Hussein before his execution.

Victory Base Complex, a site ringed by 42 kilometers of blast walls and razor wire, was the US command centre for the Iraq war almost from the moment American occupation troops entered the capital.

The handover of Victory Base marks a major milestone in the U.S. withdrawal from Iraq as Washington consolidates its presence in Baghdad at its huge embassy on the Tigris River in the capital's heavily fortified Green Zone.

Only 12,000 troops remain, down from a peak of about 170,000 at the height of the war. Almost all of the remaining occupation forces are due to leave Iraq by the end of this year, except for a small contingent of 200 attached to the US embassy.

"The Victory Base Complex was officially signed over to the receivership of the Iraqi government this morning," Colonel Barry Johnson, a US military spokesman announced.

"The base is no longer under US control and is now under the full authority of Iraq," he added.



Source: News Agencies, Edited by moqawama.org