clipped from: www.cnn.com BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- Iraqis welcomed the Tuesday deadline for American troops to leave their towns and cities with a street festival in Baghdad, though fears of renewed violence tempered celebrations of what their government called "National Sovereignty Day."
Newscasters on the state television network Al-Iraqiya draped Iraqi flags around their necks as an onscreen clock counted down to midnight Monday. Earlier Monday evening, hundreds of people danced and sang in a central Baghdad park to mark the U.S. pullout.
"I feel the same way as any Iraqi feels -- I will feel my freedom and liberation when I don't see an American stopping an Iraqi on the street," said Baghdad resident Awatef Jwad.