War funding bill sent to President on anniversary of "mission accomplished" speech

It is a contest in political staging. Four years after President Bush declared major combat in Iraq over, under a banner heralding mission accomplished, Democrats choose for a special ceremony. They plan to send up their hard-fought war-funding bill -- requiring troop drawdown -- a bill they know The President will veto.

"That's not the only bad thing about the bill. It also imposes the judgment of people here in Washington on our military commanders and diplomats," said President George Bush.

Anti-war protests outside the White House highlight the timing. The Democrats' message is valid, according to one retired army general. "I think it's appropriate political theater to be honest. The American people walked away from the war, the execution was incompetent."

The bill, however, is not. "If they want to pull the plug the war they ought to defund it but it's not good policy for congress to give detailed instructions on the execution of the war," said NBC Military Analyst, General Barry McCaffrey, U.S. Army Retired.

The clash comes as the State Department announced a dramatic increase in terror attacks. 14,000 last year were compiled in an annual report. Almost half of those were in Iraq, up from nearly a third the year before.

Forty percent more people were killed in terror attacks globally. More than half were Muslims, and the number of children caught in the middle and killed, shot up eighty percent.

The report acknowledges that the Iraq war is being used as a rallying cry for terrorists. In the middle of this veto clash, both sides are using that to push for more or less of a U.S. presence.