Five years ago President Bush declared an end to major combat operations in Iraq under a banner proclaiming "Mission Accomplished." Now, the war has entered its sixth year, marked over 4,000 American troop deaths and is expected to cost at least $3 trillion. The Bush Iraq war policy has failed and Americans are demanding an end to the war which has cost our country so dearly. [Member of Congress] must not give President Bush a blank check to continue this war. [State] cannot afford an endless war in Iraq.

BUSH WAS OUT OF TOUCH ON IRAQ FIVE YEARS AGO AND IS OUT OF TOUCH TODAY.

• Five years ago President Bush could not have been more off base when he declared victory aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln under that "Mission Accomplished" banner. U.S.
• Five Years later the war rages on and Bush is as out of touch as ever.
• While Bush touts success in Iraq, there is still no end in sight.

BUSH IRAQ WAR POLICY FAILED, IS MAKING US LESS SAFE HERE AT HOME

• After 5 years and the loss of so much of our nation's blood and treasure, we are less secure - not more safe. The Iraq war has taken its toll on our security here at home. The strain on our troops, equipment and National Guard has seriously undermined our nation's military strength and readiness, and our security here at home. Eighty-eight percent of military officers say Iraq has "stretched us dangerously thin."
• After 5 long years of war and the sacrifices made by so many, there is still no end in sight. The surge has failed to meets its goal of sparking political progress in Baghdad. The surge was supposed to produce "breathing space" in which reconciliation could take place. Yet the Iraqi parliament was almost dissolved because lawmakers couldn't pass any of the Bush administration's benchmarks.

BUSH IS OUT OF TOUCH WITH [STATE] ON IRAQ.

• Two in three Americans oppose the Iraq war, but President Bush has signaled he would commit U.S. troops to Iraq for the long term.
• The Bush Administration is already in talks to make a long term commitment to Iraq that would tie the hands of the next President.

[STATE PEOPLE] CANNOT AFFORD ENDLESS IRAQ WAR:

THE HUMAN COSTS OF BUSH'S FAILED IRAQ POLICY HAVE BEEN ENORMOUS

• The human costs of the Iraq war have been enormous. More than 4,000 U.S. soldiers have died in Iraq since the war began, 300,000 have traumatic brain injuries, PTSD or both and some of our troops recently embarked on their 5th tour of duty. Yet President Bush still has no exit strategy.

THE IRAQ WAR IS DRAINING OUR ECONOMY

• Economists say President Bush's reckless Iraq war will cost the U.S. at least $3 trillion dollars and will inflict lasting damage to our economy for decades to come. [Nobel Laureate Economist Joseph Stiglitz and Harvard economist Linda Bilmes] All this for a war with a country that had no ties to al-qaeda according to a recent Pentagon report.
• While President Bush was singularly focused on the Iraq war, we have slipped into what most Americans believe is a recession. Americans believe that the best way to get the country out of recession is to get the country out of Iraq. 89 percent of Americans - nine in 10 - say that the Iraq war is draining our economy. An AP poll found that seven in ten say pulling our troops out of Iraq would help a great deal or some.

THE OPPORTUNITY COSTS OF BUSH'S $3 TRILLION IRAQ DEBACLE ARE EMERGING.

• As we enter the 6th and most expensive year yet in the war in Iraq, it's time to expose the unseen costs of Bush's singular focus on the war in Iraq on the American economy, schools, health care and real security. Instead of continuing to pour America's blood and resources into war in Iraq, Americans are demanding investment in priorities here at home and a focus on real security.
• Gas prices have soared with oil prices reaching $119/ barrel - more than triple the price before the Iraq war began. Unemployment and the ranks of the uninsured have increased as well under President Bush's watch.
• Americans across the spectrum agree it's time to end the war and refocus our priorities. Nearly 7 in 10 swing voters favor a plan to invest in areas that affect American families here at home (health care, energy independence, education), rather than spend untold billions on the war in Iraq.
• With the U.S. hemorrhaging $12 billion each month on the war in Iraq, it's long past time to shake up Bush's misplaced priorities. Now that the fallout of those misplaced priorities is clear, we have the urgency and the numbers we need to finally force an end to this war. [Stiglitz: Guardian UK, February 28, 2008; AP, March 10, 2008]
• As we mark the fifth anniversary of President Bush's tragically out of touch Mission Accomplished speech, we urge a safe and responsible end to this war.
• [Member of Congress] must not give President Bush a blank check for continue his endless war in Iraq.
• In closing we would like to invite everyone to take a moment of silence to remember the fallen and all of the sacrifices made by our brave men and women, their families and this nation.

KEY QUOTES

Standing Under A "Mission Accomplished" Banner, Bush Declared An End To Major Combat Operations. While giving a speech aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln and standing under a giant "Mission Accomplished" banner, Bush announced, "Major combat operations in Iraq have ended." [Associated Press, 5/2/03]