Mission Accomplished?

by   |  May 01, 2007

Four years ago today, President George W. Bush gave his “Mission Accomplished” speech from the deck of the U.S.S. Abraham Lincoln and declared that major combat operations in Iraq had ended. As we enter the fifth year of this conflict, our troops are still in harm’s way and there’s no end in sight. Four years later, more than 3,700 American soldiers have lost their lives in the military operations overseas – 3,328 in Iraq, and 378 in Afghanistan – and thousands more have been wounded. As yet another year passes after Bush’s political stunt, an American soldier in Afghanistan has stirred up a national debate by asking a good question: why don’t we lower the flag to half-staff when a soldier dies at war? When the men and women in the U.S. armed forces make the ultimate sacrifice for our country, we should honor their service. Please sign the petition to ask Congress to amend the U.S. Flag Code to fly the flag at half-staff for one day when an American service member dies in combat.