Is the US Withdrawing from Iraq?

Washington, Aug, 20. -The U.S. government has announced the end of its combat missions in Iraq, but that Arab nation continues to be an occupied and devastated country.

On Thursday, the Pentagon's last combat contingent was withdrawn from Iraq, and the television networks showed images of the first troops' arrival home.

But the story is not that simple. About 56,000 American troops will remain in Iraq to participate for training and advisement missions, and to implement what they have nicknamed Operation New Dawn.

In addition, the number of foreign contractors in Iraq is expected to jump from 2,700 to almost 7,000 following the announced withdrawal.

A U.S. Department of State spokesman, P.J. Crowley, was specific in remarks to the MSNBC network: the U.S. troop withdrawal from Iraq does not mean the end of the U.S. mission in that country, he said.

According to Crowley, the war is ending in Iraq, but not their work there, since the US has a long term commitment with Baghdad.

The Department of State is preparing to assume several responsibilities now held by the army, including control over the thousands of contractors expected arrive in Iraq behind the facade of so-called stability and security, CNN reported.

Seven years, four months, and 29 days after the war begun by George W. Bush, no weapons of mass destruction were ever found, Osama Bin Laden has only been seen on the Internet, and hundreds of thousands of people have died. (Prensa Latina)