50-foot 'Mission Accomplished?' banner unfurled in front of White House on anniversary Josh Catone

Published: Monday April 30, 2007 Print This Email This At an event held in front of the White House grounds today, Americans United for Change and Americans Against Escalation in Iraq unfurled a version of the infamous "Mission Accomplished" banner, with one notable difference: Theirs ended with a question mark. The "Mission Accomplished?" protest comes in advance of tomorrow's fourth anniversary of the speech President George Bush made on May 1, 2003 on the USS Abraham Lincoln to declare major combat operations in Iraq complete. "In the battle of Iraq, the United States and our allies have prevailed," Bush proclaimed during that 2003 speech, below a banner that read "Mission Accomplished." LATEST ON RAW STORY : ALLEGED CLIENT OF DC MADAM SAYS HIS ESCORT 'WAS COLD FISH' But Brad Woodhouse of Americans United for Change disagrees. "Four years after President Bush said the war was over, four years after he stood before the banner 'Mission Accomplished' on the USS Abraham Lincoln and four years into a tortured and failed policy in Iraq  US forces are still caught in the crosshairs of a civil war with no end in sight." Woodhouse and other speakers at the rally outside the White House called on Bush to sign the Iraq spending bill that he is expected to veto tomorrow. The demonstration concluded with a chorus of "sign the bill, sign the bill," from the assembled protesters. Also today, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD) released a PDF file denouncing the "Mission Accomplished" speech Bush made 4 years ago. In it, Hoyer breaks down Bush's speech and rebuts various points with updated facts to show why he thinks the "mission clearly has not been accomplished." Photos from the "Mission Accomplished?" demonstration are below, along with a video. Video: Photos and video courtesy Americans United for Change



