Iraq Marks Third Anniversary Of Fall Of Baghdad
US Ambassador to Iraq Zalmay Khalilzad (right) with General George Casey (file photo) (epa)
The anniversary is now an official holiday, Freedom Day.
Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad and General George Casey said security forces must quell sectarian violence, population centers must be secure to allow Iraq's new institutions to take root and businesses to flourish, and the people must be able to trust their leadership.
The insurgency, rising sectarian violence, electricity shortages, and the current political vacuum mean that, for most Iraqis, relief at the removal of Saddam Hussein in 2006 is tempered by the subsequent harsh realities of the new Iraq.
(compiled from agency reports)