Iraqi PM welcomes US handover of Green Zone and palace

THE United States handed over control of the Green Zone and Saddam Hussein’s presidential palace to Iraqi authorities yesterday in a ceremonial move described by the country’s prime minister as a restoration of Iraq’s sovereignty.

At a ceremony marking the transition, Nouri al-Maliki said he will propose January 1 be declared a national holiday to commemorate what he called “Sovereignty Day” — the day Iraq took the lead in security away from US forces, regained control of its airspace and reclaimed a wide swath of Baghdad’s heavily fortified Green Zone. Iraq already marks New Year’s Day as a holiday.

The area that became known as the Green Zone on the west bank of the Tigris River was occupied by the United States shortly after the 2003 US invasion and walled off from the rest of the city.