The presidential candidates weighed in Thursday on the fifth anniversary of President Bush declaring the end of major combat operations in Iraq below the now-infamous "Mission Accomplished" banner.

All three candidates were critical of those statements made aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln:

John McCain: "To state the obvious, I thought it was wrong at the time ... all of those comments contributed over time to the frustration and sorrow of Americans because those statements and comments did not comport with the facts on the ground. In hearing after hearing in the Armed Services Committee and forums around America I complained loud and long that the strategy was failing and we couldn't succeed ... Obviously the presidents bare the responsibility. We all do. But do I blame him for that specific banner? I have no knowledge of that. I can't blame him for that."

Hillary Clinton: "The fifth anniversary of President Bush's 'Mission Accomplished' speech comes the same week as a chief architect of the Bush administration's war in Iraq conceded 'We were clueless on counterinsurgency.' That statement confirms what we have all known: the planning and strategy was flawed. Our troops deserved and deserve better. All Americans honor the service and sacrifice of our men and women of the Armed Forces of the United States in Iraq. We are grateful for the tremendous burden they have carried. Our troops have done their job. The path forward is to use American diplomacy and our allies to allow U.S. forces to come home, and turn responsibility back to Iraq and its people ... that is the plan that I will carry out as president."

Barack Obama: "Five years after George Bush declared 'mission accomplished' and John McCain told the American people that 'the end is very much in sight' in Iraq, we have lost thousands of lives, spent half a trillion dollars, and we're no safer. It's time to turn the page on Washington's false promises and failed judgments on foreign policy, so that we can finally ease the enormous burdens on our troops and their families, and end a war that should've never been authorized. I am the only candidate in this race who opposed the war in Iraq when Washington was falling in line with George Bush, and as President I will end this war."