"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

[Nyland8]

From 6:05 AM today:
"BAGHDAD (Reuters) - A bomb blast near a U.S. patrol in Baghdad killed nine Iraqis and wounded 23 people on Thursday.

Iraqi police said some U.S. troops were hit by the blast in the eastern Camp Sara district, where both Sunni and Shi'ite Arabs live. A U.S. military spokesman was unable to confirm the report.

U.S. forces said they killed 16 more fighters in gunfights, air strikes and tank battles beginning on Wednesday afternoon and running through the night.

Iraqi Health Ministry figures show April was the deadliest month for Iraqi civilians since last August, with 968 killed nationwide. It was the deadliest month for U.S. troops since September, with 49 reported killed.

A health official in Baghdad said 11 dead and 72 wounded had been brought to Sadr City's two hospitals in the past 24 hours. Victims included some women and children, but he did not say how many."

No doubt this is just their way of celebrating the anniversary of "Mission Accomplished"

Ya-hoo!

8

[Timelagged]

Even this article is missing a piece of the story and by doing so basically parroting White House spin as truth. I quote:

"When he received an advance copy of the speech, U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld took care to remove any use of the phrase "Mission Accomplished" in the speech itself. Later, when journalist Bob Woodward asked him about his changes to the speech, Rumsfeld responded:"I was in Baghdad, and I was given a draft of that thing to look at. And I just died, and I said my God, it's too conclusive. And I fixed it and sent it back… they fixed the speech, but not the sign."

So here was Rumsfeld earlier in Baghdad being given a draft of Bush's upcoming aircraft carrier speech, which contined "Mission Acccomplised" references, which he edited out. And the White House, it turns out, made the sign, in conjuction with the speech. So the whole story that "it was only meant to refer to the mission of that particular ship" is completely false, fabricated afterward to try to lessen the damage by simply lying.

Hapoy Anniversary, America. And Iraq.

[NotWaldo]

"Mission Prematurely Ejaculated"

[bobo209]

Thats what the idiot in chief did 2001-2008.­.BILLY SCREWED A FAT BITCH BUSH SCREWD HIS COUNTRY..M­ORON

Number Of Iraqis Slaughtered In US War And Occupation Of Iraq "1,205,025"

Number of U.S. Military Personnel Sacrificed (Officially acknowledged) In U.S. War And Occupation Of Iraq 4,061

Cost of U.S. War and Occupation of Iraq

$515,660,158,689

[Tropiholic]

George W Bush is a global embarrassment and a national disgrace.

[ProfessorDuh]

"After shifting explanatio­ns..." What a bullshit article, still letting the Bush White House get away with lies about the very plain meaning of the banner the White House demanded and displayed. Typical corporate media crap. All naked and exposed Bush lies get waved away airily as "shifting explanatio­ns."

[LivingStardust]

The Fascist's Mouthpiece, Dana "I'll say anything for money" Perino said, "And we have certainly paid a price for not being more specific on that banner."

No, you stupid cow, you may have paid A price, but you haven't paid THE price. Yet.

The day you've paid the price DUE is the day Bush is in prison and Cheney executed for treason.

End of story.

[anticon]

You can excuse Perino.She is a paid hack.But there is no excuse for the MSM lynching one candidate because of his church while giving a pass to Clinton and McCain for making the worse political decision seen in generations.
Any American that was against the Iraq war and now support a candidate that showed such terrible judgment to authorize it is not only standing logic on its head but is a hypocrite.
Your conscience should not allow you to vote for a Clinton or McCain.If you do shut your pie hole about the war.You have lost all right to be critical because you have become part of the problem not the solution.

[StillAmused]

In other news, the White House also expressed regret over early claims that Bush was not, in fact, a dry-drunk sociopath.

"We realize, in retrospect, that the events of the last seven years render that position untenable," press secretary Dana Perino said. "We knew, going in, that he had 'issues'..­. we just didn't see a full-blown train wreck thundering down the tracks."

Perino refused to comment on repeated charges that Bush and Vice President Cheney are war criminals looking for a trial.

[NotWaldo]

95 more years to go !

[shanester]

LOL!!

Good one

[truthyguy]

An ill equipped, son of a rich man was selected by the Republicans to be a figurehead president. Play president. Give speeches. Be the guy they want to have a beer with.

All well and good until something happens that requires leadership. Like 9/11. Then what you have is an incompetent, dry drunk trying to cope with interlocking world events with no real idea of what he is doing, but with a character flaw and insecurity that does not permit him to seek conflicting views or analyze the situation. What you have is George Bush, the worst president ever. The pretender to the White House who should have been impeached years ago for any number of reasons.

For those cool-aide drinkers who think otherwise, name me one area (eg., health care, the economy, the environment, international relations) where the people of the U.S. (not Halliburton or the oil companies) are better off today than they were in January 2001.

[IowaKid]

Mission accomplished he has nearly bankrupt America with his phony excuse of a war and that isn't bad enough, the US took there eyes off Pakastian and Afghanistan to go to war in Iraq and now the taliban is gaining strength. But yet we have headlines about Wright and forget the bad image we have in the world. It's pretty sad that you only hear tidbits on Iraq, or Afghanistan but we can spend our energy on Rev Wright and by the way I thought there was an ammendment that says freedom of religion. Oh by the way there has been Senate meetings with the oil companies on capital hill to fix the gas problem but we also failed to hear anything on it. That's the only way you get caught up what's going on in our is to go to cspan and watch it.

[AbstractImp]

MISSION ACCOMPLISHED?

Haliburton's bottom line is excellent - the move out through Dubai Ports into Dubai itself has been a boon. Of course, now they are much closer to Al-Qaeda..­.

Oil and Gas prices are the highest they have ever been in history, and that's in REAL dollars, which we can't even print any more.

The oil-"producers" -- that is, the scalliwags and charlatans who actually deliver this outmoded "fossil" fuel to our shores are having record profits - so don't worry too much on their behalf.

The government itself has contributed to this fiasco in two major ways, by letting its own stocks run low, and so placing another pressure on demand, and of course the wonderful war in Iraq, which has driven prices on oil more than any other factor.

We have established a central military authority right on top of one of the world's largest oil reserves. And that same military is within striking distance of others. Don't think it's just Iran they are after.

Many GOP lobbyists and party insiders have enriched themselves fabulously and are all set up to "endure" a democratic majority for quite some time.

Treasonous precedents have been established to allow for further degradation of the contsitution by future fascists, should America be dumb enough to elect another in the future.

Mission Accomplished?, you ask....

[RSU]

Aren't you at least glad that it's an American company? They employ over 100,000 people and most are Americans operating in 120 countries. It may not be the ideal company but they are one of the few who are keeping our foreign business alive. If it weren't for them, oil and gas would cost us even more than it does today.

You are right to blame our government for the high cost of energy. Right now, we are in the worst shape we've ever been in and much of our problems can be laid at the feet of Democrats who have blocked, obstructed, and protested nearly every effort to increase our own sources of energy. It will take another 10 years to build, refine, and drill our way out of this mess and guess what . . . many of the contracts will go to companies just like Halliburton.

[mamacat]

Bush #2 will be remembered as the U.S. President most hated by the rest of the world. It is difficult to imagine that we will ever have a worse leader.

[BlueStateMan]

Oh.... NEVER say, "never"...­.

We can ALWAYS top the worst.... just think "McCAIN".

[julieeiluj]

How many more days til this alfred e. newman horror story is over?

[BlueStateMan]

http://politicalhumor.about.com/library/blbushworry.htm

A prescient prediction from "The Nation" in 200.

[BlueStateMan]

...or 2000, even!

[dotmafia]

The supreme arrogance and ignorance of America is that it erroneously believes it should be the one bringing freedom and democracy to the nations of this world.

I think this natural ignorance comes from inherent ultra-patriotism. This is the belief instilled in every American, from birth to death, that there is no greater citizen, no greater country, and no greater way of life than America.

This criminal Bush "administration" has deviously and immorally used patriotic propaganda, manipulating public perception into supporting its illegal aggressions. Anyone speaking against these fascist policies is labeled unpatriotic.

You want to end this war? Start by consistently showing the American public the daily effects on the Iraqi people. Without censorship. Show the blown-up bodies. Show the dead and wounded children. Show the grieving families. Anyone criticizing this as blatantly indecent, should question the decency of what America has forced upon Iraq.

If the American public was truly exposed to the realities of what their government subjects the peoples of other nations to, they wouldn't be so quick sending their children off to war, and they'd think twice about the decency of their own morals and "Christian values".

The American mainstream media is complicit to this unnecessary war. They have failed the innocent citizens of America and Iraq.

Bush and Cheney won't be impeached and will suffer no repercussions after leaving office because they are Americans leading their country in a time of so-called "war". Simply put, American ultra-patriotism will save them.

[elCapidan]

As a soldier currently serving in Iraq, I’m getting sick of this constant talk of parents “sending their children off to war”. Neither one of my parents “sent” me here. I joined the Army almost ten years ago of my own free will. It was completely my decision. And I’m sure any of you who are parents ought to know that you could not send your adult children to war; even if it were a war you believed in.
Maybe I’m just splitting hairs here, but it’s really just a ludicrous idea, and both the libs and cons are guilty of spouting this nonsense. I made my own decisions, I took an oath which I still honor and believe in. Say what you will about Bush; if you don’t like him, that’s fine. But stop trying to make us out to be some sort of victims.

[Kong2]

It's a very old phrase that goes back to the days when parents did exactly that. We don't "march to the beat of the drums" or "keep our powder dry" anymore either. I think you're reading too much into it.

[Nyland8]

Bravo.

I might only add that the oath you took - to defend the Constitution - is not the oath you serve in Iraq. If you serve in Iraq, you serve as an underpaid mercenary for the neo-conman agenda, and your presence there is a disservice to your country.

8

[dotmafia]

I apologise, my comment about "sending children off to war" was not meant to be taken literally. I did not intend to imply American parents were making decisions for their children about enlistment. What I meant was: the youth and future of America is being sent to fight and die in a foreign land, for reasons which remain unclear and not well understood by the majority of the American public. The mainstream media has not done its job in protecting the lives and interests of the innocent citizens of America and Iraq. It has let them down in the most serious way possible. The inherent ultra-patriotism already existant in American society, and purposely inflamed by the Bush "administration" after 9/11, is the reason why the American public has fallen victim to its own self-imposed arrogance and ignorance.

[VictorLudorum]

The War cost trillions.­..........­..........

Our Development Schemes have reached Trillions.­..........­....

The War ousted a Militant Dictator by USE of Force...ok­! Welcome...­...

There are still Militant Dictators allover the World.....­..........­.....

We fight Regimes in the feild and US Administeration is now perhaps cnear making a decision..­..........­...

The War distracted social issues....­.........

Although Princess/Sister Raina voluntarily opened a book about the original conspiracy .


While we worked on them with too much government support...­..........­...

The War set a precedant 'that nations lose and finish but natives cannot be defeated or removed from fighting.S­o the new day has to dawn after the inveder submits totally except for the 'cause' his anti militant dictator's fight.....­..........­......

The Mission GWB set himself as far as ousting the cruel dictator is concerned is 'accomplished' but his accomplices are at large.....­..........­....
.