A plane with an American flag and the headline: REPUBLICAN IRAQ PLAN: 50 YEARS IN IRAQ will circle the airspace over tonight’s GOP Presidential debate at the New Hampshire Institute of Politics. The plane will be airborne from 5:00pm-8:00pm; the Republican Presidential Debate begins at 7:00pm.

Granite Staters will also participate in an Americans Against Escalation in Iraq (AAEI) rally held by NH Peace Action and American Friends Service Committee. Protesters urging an end to the war in Iraq will hold signs from 4-6pm today at the main entrance to the Saint Anselm campus, where the debate is being held.

“President Bush's vision of fifty more years of war in Iraq is completely out of touch -- even coming from a man who declared ‘Mission Accomplished’ four years ago,” said Tara McGuinness, deputy campaign manager of Americans Against Escalation in Iraq. “Republican candidates for president need to make it clear tonight whether they stand with the American public or with the President's endless war,” concluded McGuinness.

According to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll, “Almost six in 10 Americans said they do not think the additional troops sent to Iraq since the beginning of the year will help restore civil order there, and 53 percent -- a new high in Post-ABC News polls -- said they do not believe that the war has contributed to the long-term security of the United States.”

May 2007 was the third worst month for U.S. casualties in Iraq, with 122 servicemen killed. The President and his administration have recently voiced support for a long-term occupation strategy in Iraq, similar to situation in South Korea.

AAEI hired two planes to circle the first GOP Presidential Debate in Los Angeles with banners that read: “Republicans, Mission Accomplished?” and “McCain, Mission Accomplished?” A mobile billboard bearing similar messages circled the second GOP Debate in South Carolina.

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