"Mission Accomplished" 5 Years Later

WASHINGTON — 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."

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On the Net:

White House: http://www.whitehouse.gov

Comments

[helonias]

How pathetic we have before, we accept the constant stream of lies from our leader with a shrug of the shoulders and the press enables this escapee from reality to tell us more, without a question.

Washington and Jefferson and all who died defending this country and what it once stood for are turning in their graves.

[ejay579]

"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."

---------------------------------------------------------

.....so it is being played up for the fifth year, according to McShame's calculation there are only 95 times to go

Refrain: "Take one down, pass it around............only 95 years more of war in Iraq
Only 95 years more of war in Iraq, only 95 years more of war
Take one down, pass it around......."

[wolf58]

51 more died in April and the MSM can't seem to report the fact that the numbers are on the rise, that the surge has been a failure. Bush is a traitor as well as all those who follow him. His remarks of he thinks things are going well in Afghanistan just shows he does not have a clue nor has he ever. He and his neocon terrorist are the direct cause of the deaths of 4063 service members and they should all be rounded up and sent to Cuba until we the people see fit to put them on trial.

[fdp3]

""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."

4000 U.S. military deaths and over 10,000 catastrophic injuries and THEY have paid a price because the media has given them heat over a banner.

So this is the way patriotism sounds?

fp

[robodweeb]

"In the liberation of this country, we've achieved some very important strategic objectives: denying al Qaeda safe haven from which to plot and plan attacks " - Bush press conf. 4/28

Still lying after all these years.

[SatinPanties]

That's all the have... that's all they ever had. LIES

[wkitwizard]

COKEHEAD, AWOL, DRUNKEN COWARD. His historic legacy will be shame and hatred forever.

[markusmarkus]

"COKEHEAD, AWOL, DRUNKEN COWARD. His historic legacy will be shame and hatred forever."

Missed one - DESERTER in time of war.

[zerocoma]

And traitor.

[iBgood]

I wonder if tweety will get all teary eyed and have palpitations over the MISSION ACCOMPLISHED anniversary with the decider in codpiece.

[Bill968]

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."

how the president would describe the fight today would be something like "we are hunting down killing and capturing Islamofascist Arabs".

Yeah right, we are taking the fight to the enemy if taking the fight to the enemy is calling in air strikes on the same poor Shia of Sadr City that helped the Marines yank down the Saddam statue five years and one month ago.

[ProfessorDuh]

The BBC article on this topic tells the true history of Bush's lying banner. Unlike this crap story.

[markusmarkus]

Link or leave!

[livetotell]

You are right Professor , thanks for pointing that out !

[NotWaldo]

Bush's administration gave a whole new meaning to the word CLUELESS !

[TheGreatRadsby]

"It's been a very tough month in Iraq, but we are taking the fight to the enemy."

Oh ya hear that everybody...dont worry, press secretary Dana Perino has been "taking the fight to the enemy" ....Must be all the press releases that are fighting "terrorism"

[tess08]

mission accomplished.
Dubyah the anti-US terrorists must luvya, Osama bin laden couldn't have done a better job at putting America and Americans in the toilet.

[soundfury]

Mister President, that's a whole lot o' hat sittin' on yo' head...SO WHERE'S THE CATTLE, HUH???

I'm for Obama, but I think this is one issue Republicans, Independents, Hillary Democrats, Greens, other, etc., etc. etc. can agree on....this is the dumbest President in history!

Before you neo-cons jump the gun...admit it, he was just Cheney's puppet, so he had to be dumb.

Now they have McSame on board. He's gonna put us all to sleep during the GE. After these primaries maybe we can all use some....zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz's!

Don't let the door hit ya on your way out, and GOOD RIDDANCE!

[hope]

The American Occupation of Iraq.

An unparalleled debacle from it's inception.

I bet Dubya thought he was 'Ready on Day One' too.

[markusmarkus]

"I bet Dubya thought he was 'Ready on Day One' too."

Was he ever ready - ready to screw up this country.

[Bobby]

What a travesty this war is. Over 4,000 troops have died and over 30,000 have been wounded, some VERY seriously. Then our wounded troops get to come home to deplorable conditions at Walter Reed and other veteran's hospitals. Or they can watch John McCain, Lindsey Graham, Joe LIEberman and others vote against the GI bill. While in Iraq, the troops had to deal with tainted and dirty water supplied to them from Dick Cheney's old company, Halliburton. You know, the company that got the Iraq business because of a NO bid process. This war was NEVER about anything more than oil and war profiteering. Bu$h and company lied about the WMDs, the mushroom cloud threat, the ties between Iraq and 9/11 or al quada. Exxon, who keeps raising it's gas prices everyday, and who had an $11 BILLION dollar profit last quarter, will be getting a lion's share of the Iraqi oil, just like Chevron, Shell and the boys. Meanwhile the cash registers keep ringing for Halliburton, Blackwater, the Carlyle Group and others. History should have told us that THIS would happen. It's the BU$H modus operandi. But the MSM looks away and some of the sheeple are just naive.

http://www.thepeoplesvoice.org/cgi-bin/blogs/voices.php/2008/04/30/p25159

http://www.thepeoplesvoice.org/cgi-bin/blogs/voices.php/2006/10/05/dynasty_of_death_part_1

http://www.thepeoplesvoice.org/cgi-bin/blogs/voices.php/2006/10/10/dynasty_of_death_part_2

[drbelove]

The Mission Accomplished picture is from back in the Jesus Picture days. Another other one of those pictures was the Baghdad thanksgiving picture. For a while they deliberately had him set up like pictures in a Christian calender. It was a pattern. the halo is no mistake.

[robodweeb]

"The United States and our allies have prevailed. " - Bush 5/3/03

That explains why we're still fighting.

"The world has seen the might of the American armed forces. " - Bush 5/3/03

The world has seen the might of the American armed forces still trying to eliminate the 1,000 al Qaeda after 5 years.

"al Qaeda is wounded, not destroyed." - Bush 5/3/03

Actually, they have a safe haven, have rebuilt to 9/11 levels and are recruiting "western-looking" terrorists.