Yankee, Go Home

This week marked the fourth anniversary of the fall of Saddam Hussein and the liberation of Iraq. On Monday, tens of thousands of Iraqis turned out to celebrate – which, according to one U.S. official, was proof that "Iraq, four years on, is now a place where people can freely gather and express their opinions." A U.S. military spokesperson proclaimed that Iraqis "could not have done this four years ago."

That's the good news. The bad news is the Iraqis were also protesting the continued U.S. military occupation of their country. Crowds chanted, "No, no to America. Yes, yes to freedom," and "Occupiers should leave Iraq." According to one Shi'ite, "We do not want their liberation and their [U.S. military] presence. We tell them to get out of our land." A Shi'ite politician described the protests as a "call for liberation." And a Sunni politician claimed, "This demonstration is a friendly message to unite Iraqis on one common issue, and that is end of occupation." So while thankful to be free of Saddam's brutal tyranny, Iraqis were also saying what they've been saying with increasing volume for the last four years: Yankee, go home. More