Still No 'Mission Accomplished'
By Paul Reynolds
By Paul Reynolds
World affairs correspondent, BBC News website
"President Bush did not say "Mission Accomplished" on the deck of the USS Abraham Lincoln off San Diego on 1 May five years ago. But the banner above him did.
And the picture of those two words said more than the 1,829 words of his speech.
What the president said, among a lot of other things, was: "Major combat operations in Iraq have ended. In the battle of Iraq, the United States and our allies have prevailed. And now our coalition is engaged in securing and reconstructing that country."
But the message from the banner said it simpler - mission accomplished. It was all over...
And the picture of those two words said more than the 1,829 words of his speech.
What the president said, among a lot of other things, was: "Major combat operations in Iraq have ended. In the battle of Iraq, the United States and our allies have prevailed. And now our coalition is engaged in securing and reconstructing that country."
But the message from the banner said it simpler - mission accomplished. It was all over...
Afghanistan, too
...Mr Rumsfeld himself said, on the same day as the Abraham Lincoln event, that major combat in Afghanistan had also ended.
He declared in Kabul: "We're at a point where we clearly have moved from major combat activity to a period of stability and stabilisation and reconstruction activities. The bulk of this country today is permissive, it's secure."
There is not much optimism about Iraq these days
The story of the banner would have made a good episode of the US television series The West Wing..."
...Mr Rumsfeld himself said, on the same day as the Abraham Lincoln event, that major combat in Afghanistan had also ended.
He declared in Kabul: "We're at a point where we clearly have moved from major combat activity to a period of stability and stabilisation and reconstruction activities. The bulk of this country today is permissive, it's secure."
There is not much optimism about Iraq these days
The story of the banner would have made a good episode of the US television series The West Wing..."
© MMVIII BBC News
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
From: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7377036.stm
But let's listen to this and "Let's Pretend!"
But let's listen to this and "Let's Pretend!"
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