WASHINGTON (AP) - The White House said Wednesday that President Bush has paid a price for the “Mission Accomplished” banner that was flown in triumph five years ago but later became a symbol of U.S. misjudgments and mistakes in the long and costly war in Iraq.

Thursday is the fifth anniversary of Bush’s dramatic landing in a Navy jet on an aircraft carrier homebound from the war. The USS Abraham Lincoln had launched thousands of airstrikes on Iraq.

“Major combat operations in Iraq have ended,” Bush said at the time. “The battle of Iraq is one victory in a war on terror that began on Sept. 11, 2001, and still goes on.” The “Mission Accomplished” banner was prominently displayed above him-a move the White House came to regret as the display was mocked and became a source of controversy.

After shifting explanations, the White House eventually said the “Mission Accomplished” phrase referred to the carrier’s crew completing its 10-month mission, not the military completing its mission in Iraq. Bush, in October 2003, disavowed any connection with the “Mission Accomplished” message. He said the White House had nothing to do with the banner; a spokesman later said the ship’s crew asked for the sign and the White House staff had it made by a private vendor.

“President Bush is well aware that the banner should have been much more specific and said `mission accomplished’ for these sailors who are on this ship on their mission,” White House press secretary Dana Perino said Wednesday. “And we have certainly paid a price for not being more specific on that banner. And I recognize that the media is going to play this up again tomorrow, as they do every single year.”

She said what is important now is “how the president would describe the fight today. It’s been a very tough month in Iraq, but we are taking the fight to the enemy.”

At least 49 U.S. troops died in Iraq in April, making it the deadliest month since September when 65 U.S. troops died.

Now in its sixth year, the war in Iraq has claimed the lives of at least 4,061 members of the U.S. military. Only the Vietnam War (August 1964 to January 1973), the war in Afghanistan (October 2001 to present) and the Revolutionary War (July 1776 to April 1783) have engaged America longer.

Bush, in a speech earlier this month, said that “while this war is difficult, it is not endless.”

Editor’s Note:

—- From Yesterday’s Briefing at the White House —-

Q Me? How does the President intend to commemorate “Mission Accomplished” after five years of death and destruction?

MS. PERINO: What you’re referring to is the banner that ran — that was aboard the ship five years ago. President Bush –

Q I’m talking about the anniversary tomorrow.

MS. PERINO: Yes, I get — no, I understand. That’s the anniversary of when that banner flew on that ship. President Bush is well aware that the banner should have been much more specific and said “mission accomplished for these sailors who are on this ship on their mission.” And we have certainly paid a price for not being more specific on that banner. And I recognize that the media is going to play this up again tomorrow, as they do every single year.

I think what’s important is what the President would — how the President would describe the fight today. It’s been a very tough month in Iraq, but we are taking the fight to the enemy. The President, you heard him say yesterday, believes that fighting terrorists, jihadists, al Qaeda, and the Iranian-backed militias –

Q Is every Iraqi a terrorist?

MS. PERINO: — and the Iranian-backed militias –

Q We’re fighting the Iraqis, we’re bombing their homes. What do you mean?

MS. PERINO: Helen, we are going after terrorists and al Qaeda and Iranian-backed Shia militia who are killing not only innocent Iraqis but our soldiers as well, and we’re doing so in –

Q We’re bombing homes with children –

MS. PERINO: — we are working very closely with the government of Iraq in order to take back these provinces. And I would point you to Basra and the battle on Basra, in which the initial reports was that it was an unmitigated failure. And actually if you look at it now, we were — the Iraqis, working with us, with our support, were able to take back that port and that town. And I think what that shows is that Prime Minister Maliki, once he decided to take on these criminal elements, brought together his government, and now they’re backing him and they’re working together, and now they want to start taking on other militias, such as in Sadr City.

But remember, Helen, when we are going after these terrorists and the ones who hide amongst innocent civilians –

Q We’re going after Iraqis who are fighting for their own country.

MS. PERINO: But they hide amongst innocent civilians, and that is where you get problems that we obviously regret and go out of our way to avoid.

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