So Iraq is free of occupation now

First, how many times have we since 2003 read about how the US is "transferring" authority and sovereignty to Iraqis.  I mean, the departure of Paul Brenner was full of pomp and fanfare (fanfare is etymologically from the Arabic farfarah, according to W.M. Watt).  So now, we are told, Iraq is free because ONLY 56,000 US occupation troops remain, in addition to the 100,000 US "contractors."