Operation Iraqi Freedom: MISSION ACCOMPLISHED -- 5th year anniversary

[sega genesis]

http://www.insanereagan.com/images/m...ed02-hires.jpg

http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/relea...030501-15.html

Originally Posted by The best president EVER

Thank you all very much. Admiral Kelly, Captain Card, officers and sailors of the USS Abraham Lincoln, my fellow Americans: Major combat operations in Iraq have ended. In the battle of Iraq, the United States and our allies have prevailed. (Applause.) And now our coalition is engaged in securing and reconstructing that country.

In this battle, we have fought for the cause of liberty, and for the peace of the world. Our nation and our coalition are proud of this accomplishment -- yet, it is you, the members of the United States military, who achieved it. Your courage, your willingness to face danger for your country and for each other, made this day possible. Because of you, our nation is more secure. Because of you, the tyrant has fallen, and Iraq is free. (Applause.)

Operation Iraqi Freedom was carried out with a combination of precision and speed and boldness the enemy did not expect, and the world had not seen before. From distant bases or ships at sea, we sent planes and missiles that could destroy an enemy division, or strike a single bunker. Marines and soldiers charged to Baghdad across 350 miles of hostile ground, in one of the swiftest advances of heavy arms in history. You have shown the world the skill and the might of the American Armed Forces.

This nation thanks all the members of our coalition who joined in a noble cause. We thank the Armed Forces of the United Kingdom, Australia, and Poland, who shared in the hardships of war. We thank all the citizens of Iraq who welcomed our troops and joined in the liberation of their own country. And tonight, I have a special word for Secretary Rumsfeld, for General Franks, and for all the men and women who wear the uniform of the United States: America is grateful for a job well done. (Applause.)

The character of our military through history -- the daring of Normandy, the fierce courage of Iwo Jima, the decency and idealism that turned enemies into allies -- is fully present in this generation. When Iraqi civilians looked into the faces of our servicemen and women, they saw strength and kindness and goodwill. When I look at the members of the United States military, I see the best of our country, and I'm honored to be your Commander-in-Chief. (Applause.)

In the images of falling statues, we have witnessed the arrival of a new era. For a hundred of years of war, culminating in the nuclear age, military technology was designed and deployed to inflict casualties on an ever-growing scale. In defeating Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan, Allied forces destroyed entire cities, while enemy leaders who started the conflict were safe until the final days. Military power was used to end a regime by breaking a nation.

Today, we have the greater power to free a nation by breaking a dangerous and aggressive regime. With new tactics and precision weapons, we can achieve military objectives without directing violence against civilians. No device of man can remove the tragedy from war; yet it is a great moral advance when the guilty have far more to fear from war than the innocent. (Applause.)

In the images of celebrating Iraqis, we have also seen the ageless appeal of human freedom. Decades of lies and intimidation could not make the Iraqi people love their oppressors or desire their own enslavement. Men and women in every culture need liberty like they need food and water and air. Everywhere that freedom arrives, humanity rejoices; and everywhere that freedom stirs, let tyrants fear. (Applause.)

We have difficult work to do in Iraq. We're bringing order to parts of that country that remain dangerous. We're pursuing and finding leaders of the old regime, who will be held to account for their crimes. We've begun the search for hidden chemical and biological weapons and already know of hundreds of sites that will be investigated. We're helping to rebuild Iraq, where the dictator built palaces for himself, instead of hospitals and schools. And we will stand with the new leaders of Iraq as they establish a government of, by, and for the Iraqi people. (Applause.)

The transition from dictatorship to democracy will take time, but it is worth every effort. Our coalition will stay until our work is done. Then we will leave, and we will leave behind a free Iraq. (Applause.)

The battle of Iraq is one victory in a war on terror that began on September the 11, 2001 -- and still goes on. That terrible morning, 19 evil men -- the shock troops of a hateful ideology -- gave America and the civilized world a glimpse of their ambitions. They imagined, in the words of one terrorist, that September the 11th would be the "beginning of the end of America." By seeking to turn our cities into killing fields, terrorists and their allies believed that they could destroy this nation's resolve, and force our retreat from the world. They have failed. (Applause.)

In the battle of Afghanistan, we destroyed the Taliban, many terrorists, and the camps where they trained. We continue to help the Afghan people lay roads, restore hospitals, and educate all of their children. Yet we also have dangerous work to complete. As I speak, a Special Operations task force, led by the 82nd Airborne, is on the trail of the terrorists and those who seek to undermine the free government of Afghanistan. America and our coalition will finish what we have begun. (Applause.)

From Pakistan to the Philippines to the Horn of Africa, we are hunting down al Qaeda killers. Nineteen months ago, I pledged that the terrorists would not escape the patient justice of the United States. And as of tonight, nearly one-half of al Qaeda's senior operatives have been captured or killed. (Applause.)

The liberation of Iraq is a crucial advance in the campaign against terror. We've removed an ally of al Qaeda, and cut off a source of terrorist funding. And this much is certain: No terrorist network will gain weapons of mass destruction from the Iraqi regime, because the regime is no more. (Applause.)

In these 19 months that changed the world, our actions have been focused and deliberate and proportionate to the offense. We have not forgotten the victims of September the 11th -- the last phone calls, the cold murder of children, the searches in the rubble. With those attacks, the terrorists and their supporters declared war on the United States. And war is what they got. (Applause.)

Our war against terror is proceeding according to principles that I have made clear to all: Any person involved in committing or planning terrorist attacks against the American people becomes an enemy of this country, and a target of American justice. (Applause.)

Any person, organization, or government that supports, protects, or harbors terrorists is complicit in the murder of the innocent, and equally guilty of terrorist crimes.

Any outlaw regime that has ties to terrorist groups and seeks or possesses weapons of mass destruction is a grave danger to the civilized world -- and will be confronted. (Applause.)

And anyone in the world, including the Arab world, who works and sacrifices for freedom has a loyal friend in the United States of America. (Applause.)
Click here for a USS Abraham Lincoln photo essay.

Our commitment to liberty is America's tradition -- declared at our founding; affirmed in Franklin Roosevelt's Four Freedoms; asserted in the Truman Doctrine and in Ronald Reagan's challenge to an evil empire. We are committed to freedom in Afghanistan, in Iraq, and in a peaceful Palestine. The advance of freedom is the surest strategy to undermine the appeal of terror in the world. Where freedom takes hold, hatred gives way to hope. When freedom takes hold, men and women turn to the peaceful pursuit of a better life. American values and American interests lead in the same direction: We stand for human liberty. (Applause.)

The United States upholds these principles of security and freedom in many ways -- with all the tools of diplomacy, law enforcement, intelligence, and finance. We're working with a broad coalition of nations that understand the threat and our shared responsibility to meet it. The use of force has been -- and remains -- our last resort. Yet all can know, friend and foe alike, that our nation has a mission: We will answer threats to our security, and we will defend the peace. (Applause.)

Our mission continues. Al Qaeda is wounded, not destroyed. The scattered cells of the terrorist network still operate in many nations, and we know from daily intelligence that they continue to plot against free people. The proliferation of deadly weapons remains a serious danger. The enemies of freedom are not idle, and neither are we. Our government has taken unprecedented measures to defend the homeland. And we will continue to hunt down the enemy before he can strike. (Applause.)

The war on terror is not over; yet it is not endless. We do not know the day of final victory, but we have seen the turning of the tide. No act of the terrorists will change our purpose, or weaken our resolve, or alter their fate. Their cause is lost. Free nations will press on to victory. (Applause.)

Other nations in history have fought in foreign lands and remained to occupy and exploit. Americans, following a battle, want nothing more than to return home. And that is your direction tonight. (Applause.) After service in the Afghan -- and Iraqi theaters of war -- after 100,000 miles, on the longest carrier deployment in recent history, you are homeward bound. (Applause.) Some of you will see new family members for the first time -- 150 babies were born while their fathers were on the Lincoln. Your families are proud of you, and your nation will welcome you. (Applause.)

We are mindful, as well, that some good men and women are not making the journey home. One of those who fell, Corporal Jason Mileo, spoke to his parents five days before his death. Jason's father said, "He called us from the center of Baghdad, not to brag, but to tell us he loved us. Our son was a soldier."

Every name, every life is a loss to our military, to our nation, and to the loved ones who grieve. There's no homecoming for these families. Yet we pray, in God's time, their reunion will come.

Those we lost were last seen on duty. Their final act on this Earth was to fight a great evil and bring liberty to others. All of you -- all in this generation of our military -- have taken up the highest calling of history. You're defending your country, and protecting the innocent from harm. And wherever you go, you carry a message of hope -- a message that is ancient and ever new. In the words of the prophet Isaiah, "To the captives, 'come out,' -- and to those in darkness, 'be free.'"

Thank you for serving our country and our cause. May God bless you all, and may God continue to bless America.

5 years since "major combat operations have ended in Iraq" and now thanks to our astute leaders, the US has avoided becoming a smoking crater between the atlantic and pacific. just ask Dick...

Iraq invasion was "successful endeavor": Cheney
By Tabassum Zakaria

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney on Monday declared the 2003 U.S.-led invasion of Iraq a "successful endeavor" in a visit to Iraq that was overshadowed by a suicide bombing that killed at least 25 people.

"If you look back on those five years it has been a difficult, challenging but nonetheless successful endeavor ... and it has been well worth the effort," Cheney told a news conference in Baghdad after meeting Iraqi leaders.

The Iraq war is a major issue in the U.S. presidential campaign. As it enters it sixth year, the war has cost the U.S. economy $500 billion and seen nearly 4,000 U.S. soldiers and tens of thousands of Iraqis killed.

Shortly after Cheney spoke, a woman wearing a suicide vest blew herself up in a cafe in the southern holy Shi'ite city of Kerbala, killing 25 people and wounding 50, police and health officials said. Bombs in Baghdad killed four and wounded 13.

Cheney, an architect of the invasion, arrived as Republican presidential candidate John McCain was meeting Iraqi leaders as part of a Senate Armed Services Committee fact-finding mission.

"I was last in Baghdad 10 months ago and I sense that, as a result of the progress that has been made since then, phenomenal changes in terms of the overall situation," Cheney said after meeting Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki.

Cheney said there had been a "remarkable turnaround" in security after 30,000 extra troops were sent to Iraq last year to help reduce sectarian violence that threatened civil war.

Despite the improved security, however, some 4 million Iraqis are still displaced, and the International Committee of the Red Cross said in a report on Monday that millions were still deprived of clean water and medical care.

Like McCain, Cheney is in Iraq as part of a wider tour to the Middle East. Cheney will also visit Saudi Arabia, Jerusalem, the Palestinian territories, Turkey and Oman on a nine-day tour.

Both men have been staunch supporters of the U.S. troop build-up that Washington says helped drag Iraq back from the brink of all-out sectarian civil war between majority Shi'ites and minority Sunni Muslims who were dominant under Saddam.

"The surge is working," McCain, referring to the troop build-up, told CNN in an interview in Baghdad.

http://magnovox101.files.wordpress.c...ss-america.jpg

[alexthestampede]

the figure ive heard is 3 trillion, not 500b

[Gish08]

USA! USA! USA! USA! USA! USA! USA! USA! USA! USA! USA! USA! USA! USA! USA! USA! USA! USA! USA! USA! USA! USA! USA! USA! USA! USA! USA! USA! USA! USA! USA! USA! USA! USA! USA! USA!

[Nimrod's Son]

I'm really not even going to dignify this with a response. The sophomoric understanding of "major combat operations" vs. "protection and reconstruction" on this board is pretty laughable, as if most people think Bush was saying "that's it, we're done, everyone come home."

Bush may be an idiot, but attacking him repeatedly on this issue shows a low level of understanding by the attackers.

[Caine Walker]

Originally Posted by Nimrod's Son

I'm really not even going to dignify this with a response.

buuuut ya did it anyway.

[alexthestampede]

that speech and the "mission accomplished" photo op really didnt give the impression that things would be worse not better. but i suppose we had accomplished the last of any goals that we would accomplish in iraq, so in that sense it was fitting

[sega genesis]

Originally Posted by Nimrod's Son

I'm really not even going to dignify this with a response. The sophomoric understanding of "major combat operations" vs. "protection and reconstruction" on this board is pretty laughable, as if most people think Bush was saying "that's it, we're done, everyone come home."

Bush may be an idiot, but attacking him repeatedly on this issue shows a low level of understanding by the attackers.

i'm jsut celebrating the 5th anniversary that that momentous occasion, and in effect the following five years of protection and reconstruction. an who expects us to come home? we havent even found the anthrax and yellowcake uranium yet

my commander in chief is anything but an "idiot," btw. you need to stop reading the dailykos so much

[Eric Blair]

Originally Posted by Nimrod's Son

I'm really not even going to dignify this with a response. The sophomoric understanding of "major combat operations" vs. "protection and reconstruction" on this board is pretty laughable, as if most people think Bush was saying "that's it, we're done, everyone come home."

Bush may be an idiot, but attacking him repeatedly on this issue shows a low level of understanding by the attackers.

I disagree completely with this. The obvious implication of "mission accomplished" is that there will be no more slaughter. A war is essentially still being fought and trying to cover it up with the "protection and reconstruction" euphemism is completely inadequate. Protection and reconstruction does not entail the continued deaths of thousands of people. The United States military is trying to consolidate a hostile invasion and those that choose to research where the funds are going (which is not surprisingly quite difficult) will find that the funs are going to United States interests.

[Debaser]

oh, nimrod

[redbreegull]

Originally Posted by Nimrod's Son

I'm really not even going to dignify this with a response. The sophomoric understanding of "major combat operations" vs. "protection and reconstruction" on this board is pretty laughable, as if most people think Bush was saying "that's it, we're done, everyone come home."

Bush may be an idiot, but attacking him repeatedly on this issue shows a low level of understanding by the attackers.

After all these years I have finally come to the realization that you think it is your purpose in life to play the devil's advocate to everything.

[sega genesis]

nimrod should take damage control advice from dana perino

"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."

oooh man, do i ever feel stupid. "mission accomplished for these sailors who are on this ship on their mission." ah that's why they went out of their way for some massive photo op and that's why bush gave one of the biggest speeches of his presidency - because it was all about the SHIP. it makes sooo much sense now.

[Cup O Mercury]

Mission Accomplished is correct technically. The President was referring to the combat operations to defeat the Iraqi Military and more specifically the tour of the war ship where the famous speech was made.

[Gish08]

Originally Posted by Nimrod's Son

I'm really not even going to dignify this with a response. The sophomoric understanding of "major combat operations" vs. "protection and reconstruction" on this board is pretty laughable, as if most people think Bush was saying "that's it, we're done, everyone come home."

Bush may be an idiot, but attacking him repeatedly on this issue shows a low level of understanding by the attackers.

Oh ffs

Just admit that you have a woody for Bush deep down inside. It's so fucking obvious

[Chuck=Zero]

This moment in time was referred to as "the end of major combat operations in Iraq" at the time, when lookin' back now, it was merely just the start of major combat. Iraq Invasion Deux was a cakewalk for US forces, it wasn't until Shiite/Sunni/Al-qaeda insurgents "stepped up to the plate" that serious combat began and continues to this day. The meaning of the "Mission Accomplished" banner can be debated, but one fact that cannot be disputed is that no one callin' the shots in the Administration at the time, from Dubya, Cheyney, Rumsfeld to Rice had any fuckin' idea that insurgents would cause such a fuckin' nightmare.

[sega genesis]

everything in the middle east is a fucking nightmare. they had a damn good idea

[Chuck=Zero]

Nah, they didn't. At the time, the thought was still that the Iraqis would love us, we had liberated them.

[sega genesis]

i guess if you drink enough kool-aid you could find that plausible. the middle east is primarily consisted of people who put millenium-old grudgefucking above all. you dont send kids to die there and blow your nations treasure unless its for logical and concise reason

[Chuck=Zero]

Well, Dubya & Co. were "drinkin' that Kool-Aid" back in '03.

[redbreegull]

Originally Posted by Cup O Mercury

Mission Accomplished is correct technically. The President was referring to the combat operations to defeat the Iraqi Military and more specifically the tour of the war ship where the famous speech was made.

You're a fucking tool who would defend Hitler if he was a member of the GOP, get the fuck off this board.

[Starla]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4.../crazyshit.jpg

[Cup O Mercury]

Bush Derangement Syndrome:

Where does it come from? What kind of psychological malady creates it? Bush is evil. Bush caused this, Bush caused that. He's the worst President ever.
To a reasonable person, this would be laughable, if it weren't so sad.

Let's examine it from a clinical standpoint.

This behavior is actually a psychological defense mechanism called 'displacement.' You can usually tell that an individual is using displacement by noting that the emotion being displaced is all out of proportion to the reality of the situation. The purpose of displacement is to avoid having to cope with the actual reality. Instead, by using displacement, an individual is able to still experience his or her anger, but it is directed at a less threatening target than the real cause. In this way, the individual does not have to be responsible for the consequences of his/her anger and feels more safe.

They don't blame the terrorists; they don't admit that they have to take action against them; their fear is transformed to anger and displaced onto President Bush. If everything is his fault, then the reality of what happened does not have to be faced.

They have an intense psychological denial about 9/11.
Bush has become the "criminal mastermind", so devious, so evil, that everything he says is a "lie", everything he does is part of a vast global conspiracy.
The Bush family has intimate ties to Bin Laden and the Saudis.
He is trying to avenge the insult to his father by getting rid of Saddam.
He plans world domination etc. etc.

The funny part is that he is paradoxically both an evil mastermind, and a total moron. Their displacement doesn't allow them to recognize the cognitive dissonance created by such a position.

Such displacement creates a false sense of control in the mind of the liberal. Whatever happens can be explained away by the displacement, so these folks regain control over what is truly a chaotic world.

[alexthestampede]

this morning some bitch on free speech radio news was comparing women suicide bombers to jumping on a grenade to save your friends in a trench

[sega genesis]

that's the line of reasoning they share. and that's never going to change, so why waste lives and resources over there when they'll kill eachother regardless? even the shiites are starting to divide into smaller faction and slaughtering eachother. its a culture based on acrimony.

[Nate the Grate]

Originally Posted by Nimrod's Son

I'm really not even going to dignify this with a response. The sophomoric understanding of "major combat operations" vs. "protection and reconstruction" on this board is pretty laughable, as if most people think Bush was saying "that's it, we're done, everyone come home."

Bush may be an idiot, but attacking him repeatedly on this issue shows a low level of understanding by the attackers.

Yeah, this would sense... if defeating the Iraqi army was our mission. In fact, this is what Bush said in 2005 that our mission was:

"Our mission in Iraq is clear. We're hunting down the terrorists. We're helping Iraqis build a free nation that is an ally in the war on terror. We're advancing freedom in the broader Middle East. We are removing a source of violence and instability, and laying the foundation of peace for our children and our grandchildren."

That mission was not accomplished in 2003. That's where the problem lies. Sure, major combat operations may have ended, but it's completely misleading for the COMMANDER IN CHIEF of the United States to get aboard an aircraft carrier and declare that our mission in Iraq had been accomplished. In his speech, he did specify that he was referring to Operation Iraqi Freedom, but the symbolism of him standing in front of a "Mission Accomplished" banner while American soldiers were still dying in Iraq was very problematic. That and the fact that he perpetuated the whole Iraq = 9/11 thing in his speech. But that's besides the point.

[Thaniel Buckner]

Originally Posted by redbreegull

You're a fucking tool who would defend Hitler if he was a member of the GOP, get the fuck off this board.

*hiss*

*scratch*

[Travis Meeks]

[Nimrod's Son]

[ibepawpaw]

Originally Posted by redbreegull

You're a fucking tool who would defend Hitler if he was a member of the GOP, get the fuck off this board.

So u disagree- don't tell someone to get off the board cause u disagree- Liberal fags like-yourself can't deal wiith the truth. Re-read Cups last Bush comment.

[Oklahoma Sexual]

Originally Posted by ibepawpaw

So u disagree- don't tell someone to get off the board cause u disagree- Liberal fags like-yourself can't deal wiith the truth. Re-read Cups last Bush comment.

What-s w- all-the hyphens-?

[sleeper]

whether or not the sign was created for the crew on that ship is pretty much besides the point. the broader sentiment expressed in that sign (the war is over!!) was more than evident in bush's rhetoric during that speech and later, and thats what people are really responding to. the sign could very well have never existed and the same criticisms would be just as present. this fundamentally isnt a controversy over some gaffe, some stupid sign, it runs much deeper than that.

the speech announced the "end of major combat operations." to read that for what it literally denotes is pure fantasy, because that wasnt how it was used. whats really important is the connotative meaning, which is that "the big, serious war stuff in iraq is over." mere reconstruction and the like isnt incompatible with this, but a 5 year long, brutal insurgency absolutely is.

so the phrase "mission accomplished" is now, due to the weight of the contradiction between that rosy sentiment and the reality of the war, just a symbol for all of the disingenuous media-management and deception by the bush administration with this war, and of the effective absence of a serious post-war plan. the short-sightedness of the bush administration has been one of the most defining features of this war, and all of the above can be referred to with "mission accomplished." that phrase used today is less about that particular sign (which just "branded" the event) than about the political bullshit and incompetance of the bush admin