After Seven Years, Last Combat Brigade Leaves Iraq

The last combat brigade left Iraq Thursday, advancing the administration’s goal of winding down the U.S. combat mission in the country by August, 31st.

The plan to limit the U.S. presence to 50,000 troops was part of a steady process spanning months. Six weeks after assuming office, President Obama announced the August deadline and in April, U.S. officials announced that 33 percent of equipment was removed from Iraq. Now, only 56,000 soldiers remain as the U.S. prepares to launch Operation New Dawn, an effort to cast American duties in Iraq as primarily diplomatic.

A U.S.-led coalition force of 300,000 invaded Iraq in 2003 amid concerns that now-executed Dictator Saddam Hussein was pursuing the ability to produce weapons of mass destruction. Evidence of the weapons program was never found, and the focus of the war shifted toward establishing a democratic government.

4,419 Americans have died in Iraq since combat operations began over seven years ago, according to data released Wednesday by the Department of Defense. The remaining 50,000 are scheduled to leave by the end of 2011.