President Barack Obama released a statement Oct. 21 that the the Iraqi war will conclude Dec. 31. In it he wrote, "...So today, I can report that, as promised, the rest of our troops in Iraq will come home by the end of the year. After nearly nine years, America’s war in Iraq will be over (...) The last American soldier[s] will cross the border out of Iraq with their heads held high, proud of their success, and knowing that the American people stand united in our support for our troops. That is how America’s military efforts in Iraq will end."

Technically the war will end, but emotionally the battle will continue for many American veterans. Also, some soldiers will remain as contractors. West Seattle activist Dorsal Plants, 27, a Delridge resident from West Virginia, served in two tours of duty in Iraq in the U.S. Army, 19 Delta Cavalry Scout, from 2002 to 2007. He is both a full time student and full time Veteran Corps employee at South Seattle Community CollegeI, a branch of AmeriCorps managed by the Washington State Department of Veteran Affairs. He also serves on the board of the Veteran Advisory Committee on campus and assists the campus veterans club president, Ryan Shannon, also of West Seattle. We reported on Shannon here.

Plants shared some thoughts with the West Seattle Herald about the internal battle challenging many retuning vets.

"There are a lot of strong opinions about our pulling out, and the war in general," he began. "There will still be an American presence in Iraq, and American influence there for many, many years to come. While our country may collectively be breathing a sigh of relief that we are no longer technically involved, for many of us we are still looking for meaning. We're still looking to understand why our friends died. For us, we're still invested in Iraq. If Iraq were to collapse in two years from now, the people I know who died, died for nothing.

"As I understand it there will still be military contractors, former soldiers, so I will still have friends over there. They will get much nicer paychecks. We invaded the country so our country's contractors have a leg up, right or wrong.

"I would really love for George Bush's messed-up dream to still come true," Plants said. "What Bush did was wrong. But he wanted a democracy in the Middle East, a place where democracy was not culturally there, to set an example. Iraq can still be that if that is what the Iraqis want. Hopefully through all of the pain, bloodshed, and mistakes on our part there is still a chance that this will happen. We have an amazing relationship with Germany and Japan. I wish we had a similar relationship with a free Korea and Vietnam which we don't, but Id love to see Iraq rise to the prominence that Germany and Japan did after World War II.

"I was just having coffee with a Vietnam vet about the fact that there was a spike of Vietnam vets having PTSD (Post-traumatic stress disorder) while they were seeing us invading Iraq," Plants said. "He was watching Fallujah in 2004 and reliving the Tet Offensive (in Vietnam, 1968.)

"When we left Vietnam we were kind of leaving with our tail between our legs and I think it depends on who you ask, but some say, yes, we are coming home from Iraq and 'mission accomplished'. This is different from the Vietnam War as there was definitely not a feeling of any kind of victory when we left Vietnam, verses this kind of debate we will now have with the end of the war in Iraq.

"In the North of Iraq, in places where I served, there were many wonderful sunflower fields. Most of the time we were having to watch the fields out of fear, but those few seconds you got to take a moment to look around, you saw row after row of these amazing sunflower fields. There are fascinating sites in Iraq and people should be able to see them. Babylon was part of our shared history. I honestly would like to go back, but we'll have to see."