Bush honors war dead, must complete Iraq mission

Arlington (Va), May 29: President George W. Bush said today that the nearly 300,000 soldiers buried at Arlington National Cemetery were a reminder of the importance of completing the U.S mission in Iraq.

Bush was making his annual Memorial Day visit to the cemetery, where he laid a wreath at the white marble Tomb of the Unknowns. He noted that 270 of the 296,000 soldiers buried at Arlington had lost their lives in the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts.

''The best way to pay respect is to value why a sacrifice was made,'' the president said. ''We will honor them by completing the mission for which they gave their lives.'' Bush spoke on another bloody day in Iraq, where more than 2,400 soldiers have died since the 2003 invasion. A series of separate attacks killed at least 47 people on Monday, police and other officials said.

Bush, who last week admitted some U.S. mistakes in Iraq, is counting on a new unity government there to stem the sectarian bloodshed and allow US forces to leave.

''All who are buried here understood their duty,'' said Bush, who recounted stories of soldiers killed in Iraq, Afghanistan and World War II.

''They saw a dark shadow on the horizon and went to meet it.

They understood that tyranny must be met with resolve and that liberty is always the achievement of courage.'' Several hundred veterans and relatives, many of them wearing buttons and T-shirts with pictures of their loved ones, fanned themselves under the hot sun as they listened to Bush.

Several dozen anti-war protesters lined the route of Bush's motorcade, holding signs such as ''Bring our troops home alive.'' Other demonstrators held placards that read, ''God Bless Our troops.'' Before leaving for the ceremony, Bush signed into law a bill to limit protests at military funerals.

The legislation applies to funerals at Arlington National Cemetery near Washington and Veterans Administration cemeteries. It was passed by Congress in response to a religious group that disrupts burials by claiming soldiers' deaths are God's punishment for tolerating homosexuality.

The president also signed legislation that would give combat soldiers income-tax deductions for contributions to retirement accounts.

Reuters