U.S. presidential candidate John McCain says withdrawing troops from Iraq will lead to chaos, as the soldiers help contain sectarian bloodshed, and are still fighting Al-Qaeda. This is despite protest rallies held on the fifth anniversary of the war in Ir

Religious groups are still fighting in Iraq, leaving the country on the brink of civil war.

Meanwhile the U.S. Military continues to release detainees, in the hope that releasing detainees will help promote reconciliation.

U.S. Army Colonel John Hort says the strategy is essential for building bridges.

“This is a great day for Azamiyah, for Baghdad, but most importantly for Iraq. Today we are repatriating several Iraqi individuals back into society,” Hort said.

American officials say they have noticed a sharp decline in violence in Iraq over the past year, despite a recent upsurge, which they blame on al Qaeda.

However there are still vast areas of the country that need their infrastructure restored. Electricity is one example.

Before the U.S. invasion of Iraq the capital had power for up to 20 hours a day.  Now it's just a tenth of that and in some parts there's no electricity at all.

According to the Failed State index, Iraq is the world's second most unstable country after Sudan.

It’s now five years since the war on terror failed to bring the Iraqis the positive changes they were promised.

Even the former U.S. envoy in Iraq, Paul Bremer, has admitted the mission proved more difficult than he had expected.

“People say 'I had the solution', whether I’m a British government servant or a general somewhere, everybody is now retrospectively saying, 'Oh I had it all figured out if only they'd asked me,” Paul Bremer said.

Now Iraq is even more difficult to assess. In November, the U.S. will elect a new president.

Regardless of whether the troops stay put or pull out, the Iraqi people know there's a long road ahead before the country can return to normal.