Some reporters are trying to play a cute little game in which they're saying in May 2003 Bush never actually SAID "Mission Accomplished," he simply appeared in front of a massive banner that said "Mission Accomplished." As though he totally disagreed with the massive banner the White House staff placed over his head.
Well, guess what I just found on the White House Web site? A little transcript of our fearless leader in June, 2003:
I am happy to see you, an so are the long-suffering people of Iraq. America sent you on a mission to remove a grave threat and to liberate an oppressed people, and that mission has been accomplished.Even more important, the White House tried to say, and has continued to say, that what was meant by "Mission Accomplished" was that THE SHIP BUSH WAS ON HAD ACCOMPLISHED ITS MISSION, not that the war in Iraq at large had accomplished its mission. From a July 1, 2003 White House briefing:
SCOTT MCLELLAN: ...as far as the crew of the Abraham Lincoln was concerned, as they were about to arrive with their families after the longest deployment ever, Mission Accomplished was a great way to summarize what they did.But that's not what the president said in June when he was talking to the troops in Qatar. Bush said the OVERALL mission was accomplished, and in particular: "America sent you on a mission to remove a grave threat and to liberate an oppressed people, and that mission has been accomplished."
They can't now claim that Bush was only talking about one ship when he said the same thing to a group of guys on land a month later. That means it was meant for more than simply that one ship. Not to mention, Bush's language is clear on its face - the MISSION ACCOMPLISHED was "removing the grave threat" and "liberating the oppressed people." Both of those were the LARGER goal of the overall mission. Not to mention, NEITHER of them has yet been completed.
