CRAWFORD, Texas, November 26, 2005 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) – US President George W. Bush's hopes for a brief reprieve from the bitter occupation of Iraq debate were dashed on Friday, November 25, when scores of protesters led by anti-war icon Cindy Sheehan called anew for troops pullout and unveiled an anti-war monument in the US leader's adoptive Texas hometown.

"We're here to say that the killing has to stop," Sheehan, whose son was killed in the Iraq war, told reporters, reported Agence France-Presse (AFP).

Crawford prepared for the influx by erecting a large warning sign for motorists a mile or so outside town that flashed the words: "Expect heavy traffic Friday, Saturday and Sunday."

"We're not going away. We don't hate anybody, we just want people to be held accountable," Sheehan said. "And just because someone's president of the United States doesn't guarantee them immunity from accountability."

Bush was out of sight, spending the Thanksgiving holiday on his Prairie Chapel estate outside this tiny town of 705 people, but was expected to make a renewed push next week to revive ailing support for the war.

Sheehan, who plans to lead an anti-war rally on Saturday, November 26, and participate in an interfaith service on Sunday, became an icon for the peace movement during a 26-day vigil outside Bush's ranch in the summer.

She took her protest to Washington in September where she was arrested for demonstrating without a permit outside the White House.

Sheehan took part in dedicating a small garden with Yucca plants and cacti and a low stone monument marked "Sheehan's Stand" on the front and inscribed with the names of US soldiers killed in Iraq, including her son Casey.

The modest ceremony was briefly interrupted by the whistles of a passing train and heckling from Texans driving past in their dusty pick-up trucks, including one who honked and shouted "Go home, you freaking losers!"

Protesters say they will come to Crawford every time Bush visits his ranch.

With the American death toll in Iraq at more than 2,000 and Democrats openly questioning the administration's case for war and its progress, public opinion has shifted and Bush's credibility has suffered. Polls show his job approval at the lowest of his presidency.

Amid political pressure for a course correction in Iraq, US officials have tried to reassure Americans that sufficient progress is being made in training Iraqi forces to possibly permit some US troops to leave.

At the Crawford "Peace House," headquarters for Sheehan's supporters, Juan Torres wore a home-made T-shirt emblazoned with his son's photograph and the words "In loving memory of my son, John Torres. February 7, 1979 - July 12, 2004. Afghanistan."