Mission Accomplished II

Jack Ohman

On the fourth anniversary of Commander Codpiece's propaganda photo op on the deck of the U.S.S. Abraham Lincoln those on the right continue to push the false meme about that event. That includes the often sensible Ed Morrisey.

Today is the fourth anniversary of George Bush's speech on the USS Abraham Lincoln -- the one Democrats and anti-war activists call the "Mission Accomplished" speech. The crew of the carrier flew the banner because their mission had indeed been accomplished -- they had successfully supported the invasion of Iraq and the fall of Saddam Hussein's government, and were returning to the United States. Instead, everyone has attributed the banner's message to George Bush.

James Bovard sets the record straight in Happy 'Mission Accomplished' Anniversary.

As things deteriorated in Iraq as 2003 progressed, the Bush team scrambled to rewrite the history of that speech. At an October 28, 2003, press conference, Bush was asked about that giant "Mission Accomplished" banner. Bush replied: "The ‘Mission Accomplished’ sign, of course, was put up by the members of the USS Abraham Lincoln, saying that their mission was accomplished. I know it was attributed somehow to some ingenious advance man from my staff – they weren’t that ingenious, by the way."

The design of the banner had the same design, typeface, and background as a large "Jobs and Growth" banner hung at a Bush speaking event in Ohio a week earlier. A few days after Bush’s Abraham Lincoln speech, the Washington Post noted that Bush’s "aides say the slogan was chosen in part to mark a presidential turn toward domestic affairs as his campaign for reelection approaches." After Bush’s October 28 comment on the banner, White House spokesman Dan Bartlett asserted that the slogan was thought up by sailors who then asked the White House to create the banner. The White House arranged for the banner to be created and delivered to the aircraft carrier. But Bush was correct that the banner was not hung up on the carrier by his press secretary, Ari Fleischer.

Brovard also documents the lies and deceptions in the speech Bush gave that day and points out that little has changed.

Nothing has happened since May 1, 2003 to make George Bush a smidgin more honest. The only difference is that Iraq’s carnage is now so obvious that even many of his loyal supporters no longer swallow Bush's lies.