Can someone please explain to me why....., page 1

When my homepage of cnn.com came up this morning, the first thing I saw U.S. death toll in Iraq passes 1,000. This disturbs me for the fact that 647 of those deaths took place after President Bush declared an end to major combat operations in Iraq.

Now, can someone please explain to me why we would still be in Iraq if Bush declared an end to the war? IF we are still over there with our troops fighting everyday in conditions like these isn't still considered war? Back in January when I told my 9 yr old nephew that my brother, his uncle, wasn't coming home but he was in fact going to Iraq he asked me why. He said he thought that the president said the war was over. I knew what he was talking about b/c I watched Bush declare an end to the war upon some battleship. Unfortunately I don't remember the name of the ship. I just want someone to explain to me why we (our troops) are still giving up their lives if the war was declared "over".