Operation IRAQI FREEDOM is the official U.S. code name for the 2003 invasion of Iraq and continuing operations in the Iraq War. "IRAQI FREEDOM" was an after-the-fact name used to convey a positive image; the actual code name for planning was Operation POLO STEP. [1]
Briefly, it had been called Operation Iraqi Liberation,[2] changed when it was realized the abbreviation would be OIL, which could have undesired connotations. [3]
Officially, it ended when the 4th Stryker Brigade Combat Team, the last operational brigade in Iraq, left in August 2010. [4] Six other brigades actually remain, but they are called "advise and assist" units charged with training.