Tuesday, May 1, 2007
News FLASHBACK: Mission Accomplished
Posted by Andisheh Nouraee on Tue, May 1, 2007 at 8:58 PM
Today is the fourth anniversary of President Bush's "Mission Accomplished" photo-op.
In case you don't remember, on May 1, 2003, Bush donned a crotch-hugging military jumpsuit and piloted a military airplane to the deck of the U.S.S. Lincoln.
In front of a giant banner that read "Mission Accomplished" the president declared major combat operations in Iraq were over.
At the time, most of the mainstream media swooned. Media Matters has excerpted some of the more disgusting examples.
The New Republic's blog The Plank writes today that there was little criticism of or skepticism about "Mission Accomplished" at the time "excluding various lefty journals, blogs, etc."
I'm not sure if Creative Loafing qualifies as a "lefty journal" or just an "etc.," but my Don't Panic column written just after "Mission Accomplished" was skeptical both of the president's photo-op, and the administration's exaggerated claims of success.
On the United States' failure to secure Iraq's cities:
Iraq's Looter Confidence Index is at 78, up five points since late April and its highest number since Hulagu, Genghis Khan's chip-off-the-(Mong)ol'-block grandson, trashed Baghdad in 1258.
On the White House's craven Top Gun photo-opping:
It seems the White House's post-war planning didn't go very far beyond choreographing George W. "Maverick" Bush's Top Gun re-enactment on the deck of the USS Abraham Lincoln.
On the failure of Bush's first reconstruction czar, Jay Garner:
Delicately put, Garner's efforts were ineffective. Why be delicate though? Garner's team was incompetent. I'm sure their intentions were good, but so what? The highway to the danger zone is paved with good intentions.
On how the United States' failure to secure Iraq would lead to sectarian civil war:
The disorder has prompted religious leaders around the country to fill the power and organization vacuum with local militias. Once an Iraqi government starts forming, it's likely that some of these militias won't surrender their local control without a fight. Anyone for civil war?
On the Bush administration trying to pretend that tiny chemical weapons stashes were a threat to the United States:
I'm not saying that Iraq didn't have WMDs, but someone from the White House might wanna explain how a chemical and biological weapons program can be big enough to inspire a war, but small enough that we can't find it.
On the Bush administration giving fat contracts to crooked companies who ended up ripping off the U.S. Treasury and the Iraqi people:
No other company was given an opportunity to bid on the work, despite KB&R's past record of fraudulent billing and Halliburton's record of doing illegal business with terrorist nations.
And then, there was the illustration:
Lefty journal.
Etc.
Whatever.
I was right.
Bragging is obnoxious, yes, but not quite as obnoxious as a pro-war magazine such as the New Republic haughtily dismissing those of us who knew from the start that this war was a bad idea and that this president was incompetent and untrustworthy.
Comments (3)
Showing 1-3 of 3
In front of a giant banner that read “Mission Accomplished†the president declared major combat operations in Iraq were over. When is the last time you heard anything about a TANK battle in Iraq? Oh, that was in 2003, over 4 years ago. Major combat operations in Iraq have been over for a long time. The challenge the US Army faces today has nothing to do with "major combat operations". There are indeed significant challenges, but when you bring up a giant banner that read “Mission Accomplished†, you show your total lack of understanding of the situation, and emphasize the fact that you are nothing but a political hack. Oh, by the way, when you say "the president", President gets capitalized.
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Actually, Joe, according to the Associated Press stylebook, the word "president" is only capitalized before the president's name — as in the first line in Andy's post. That's been true for both Democrats and Republicans.
Joe- Thanks for helping me with my military jargon. Let's see if I've got my definitions straight. Major Combat Operations = Tank Battles Mission Accomplished = U.S. troop death rate higher now than it was in March and April 2003 In your dictionary, does 40,000 refugees fleeing Iraq each month = Iraqi travel agencies doing well?
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