Advertisement

Register for free to remove this ad

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmp...ush_mission_dc

CRAWFORD, Texas (Reuters) - President Bush (news - web sites) said he had no regrets about donning a flight suit to give his "Mission Accomplished" speech on Iraq (news - web sites) in May 2003 and would do it all over again if he had the chance, according to excerpts from an television interview released on Sunday.

When asked by Fox News if he still would have put on a flight suit to declare major combat operations in Iraq over, Bush replied, "Absolutely."

When Bush gave his May 1 speech fewer than 150 Americans had died in the war. Since then more than 900 have died.

The interview is to air on Fox's "The O'Reilly Factor" on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, just before Bush and Democratic presidential nominee Sen. John Kerry (news - web sites) face off in their first televised debate on Thursday.

Amid a rising U.S. death toll and a rash of abductions and beheadings in Iraq, some members of Bush's own Republican Party have criticized him for not doing enough to secure insurgent areas in Iraq sooner.

But Bush said he also did not regret the decision to withdraw U.S. forces from the rebel stronghold of Falluja earlier this year because he believed the conflict there could have jeopardized the June handover of sovereignty to Iraqis.

"A lot of people on the ground there thought that if we'd have gone into Falluja at the time, the interim government would not have been established," Bush said.

Also in the interview, the president was noncommittal about whether his top political aide, Karl Rove, knew in advance about ads by the group, "Swift Boat Veterans for Truth" which attacked Kerry's military service in Vietnam. Bush himself did not serve in Vietnam.

On the issue of whether he knew ahead of time about the Swift Boat ads, Bush said "no," but replied "I don't think so" when questioned whether Rove had advance knowledge of them.

This administration will never admit that they shaq-fued up on anything. Never. That's stubborn leadership for you.

Originally Posted by E-Z-B This administration will never admit that they shaq-fued up on anything. Never. That's stubborn leadership for you.

No, that's "staying the course."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...2004Sep26.html

Kerry Hits Bush Quote on Carrier Banner

By Lois Romano and Mike Allen
Washington Post Staff Writers
Monday, September 27, 2004; Page A06

MADISON, Wis., Sept. 26 -- John F. Kerry excoriated President Bush on Sunday for saying that he had no regrets about his declaration more than a year ago that the mission in Iraq was accomplished, when the country continues to be in a state of war.

"I will never be a president who just says, 'Mission Accomplished.' I will get the mission accomplished," Kerry told a couple of hundred supporters who gathered to greet him when he arrived here en route to a secluded resort to prepare for his first presidential debate Thursday.

Kerry was referring to an interview Bush gave Bill O'Reilly of Fox News in which O'Reilly asked Bush whether he would still do the carrier landing on the USS Abraham Lincoln beneath the "Mission Accomplished" banner. At the time, 16 months ago, Bush referred to Iraq as a "victory" and declared an end to major combat there.

"Absolutely," the president replied in the interview, to air on Monday's "O'Reilly Factor." O'Reilly, apparently surprised, replied, "You would?" "Of course," Bush continued. "I'm saying to the troops, on this carrier and elsewhere, 'Thanks for serving America.' Absolutely. And by the way, those sailors and airmen loved seeing the commander in chief. . . . You bet I'd do it again."

In April, White House senior adviser Karl Rove told an editorial board meeting with the Columbus Dispatch in Ohio that the "Mission Accomplished" sign had been a mistake. "I wish the banner was not up there," Rove said. "I'll acknowledge the fact that it has become one of those convenient symbols."

Arriving in Madison mid-afternoon, Kerry held a five-minute rally on the tarmac and ridiculed Bush for "insisting that the situation [in Iraq] is improving, that freedom is on the march. . . . The president continues to live in a fantasy world of spin."

Kerry's running mate, Sen. John Edwards, also mocked Bush on Sunday, telling 1,500 raucous supporters at the armory in Lewiston, Maine, that "these people are so out of touch."

"Best I can tell, the only two people in America who think things are going well [in Iraq] are George Bush and Dick Cheney," Edwards said. Edwards also railed against an attack ad, sponsored by the pro-Bush group Progress for America, that shows Osama bin Laden and says a Kerry victory would make the world more dangerous. "The truth is, they're trying to exploit one of our nation's greatest tragedies for personal gain," Edwards said. "It's immoral and it's wrong."

I like Jon Stewart's assessment of what Bush's strategy seems to be - "I drove this country into a brick wall - but I never blinked!"

Originally Posted by MrBadExample I like Jon Stewart's assessment of what Bush's strategy seems to be - "I drove this country into a brick wall - but I never blinked!"

I personally like, "Don't change horsemen mid-Apocalypse."

Originally Posted by dennis_t "Absolutely," the president replied in the interview, to air on Monday's "O'Reilly Factor." O'Reilly, apparently surprised, replied, "You would?" "Of course," Bush continued. "I'm saying to the troops, on this carrier and elsewhere, 'Thanks for serving America.' Absolutely. And by the way, those sailors and airmen loved seeing the commander in chief. . . . You bet I'd do it again."

This is pretty much where the idiocy of Bush's 'Consistency Doctrine' shows. The whole 'Mission Accomplished' thing was clearly wrong (as in provably factually wrong.) Even given the chance to go back in time, given the full benefit of more than a year's worth of knowledge, Bush wouldn't even change something as laughably incorrect as the 'Mission Accomplished' thing. After all, its INFINITELY more important to be consistent than it is to be correct.

"A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds"

- Ralph Waldo Emerson

Originally Posted by Drocket This is pretty much where the idiocy of Bush's 'Consistency Doctrine' shows. The whole 'Mission Accomplished' thing was clearly wrong (as in provably factually wrong.) Even given the chance to go back in time, given the full benefit of more than a year's worth of knowledge, Bush wouldn't even change something as laughably incorrect as the 'Mission Accomplished' thing. After all, its INFINITELY more important to be consistent than it is to be correct.

In military terms it was not incorrect at the time.

I don't know if you can make the same statement about the insurgents because I don't know that their level of coordination/integration is the same level of an Army.

Note: I am not saying they aren't organized. I am saying there is a standard which has to be met. I don't know that they meet that standard.

And no, I am not splitting hairs anymore than the rest of you in other threads.

CTL

Originally Posted by CTLesq In military terms it was not incorrect at the time. I don't know if you can make the same statement about the insurgents because I don't know that their level of coordination/integration is the same level of an Army. Note: I am not saying they aren't organized. I am saying there is a standard which has to be met. I don't know that they meet that standard. And no, I am not splitting hairs anymore than the rest of you in other threads. CTL

The problem is, CTL, in retrospect it was entirely incorrect. Bush was asked a retrospective question, and instead of admitting that he called the game a little too quickly, the Prez said he'd do the same all over again.

All in all, the Mission Accomplished fiasco was an embarrassment on any number of levels. Not only was it a grossly premature announcement, but it cost taxpayer dollars and manipulated the military for was essentially a Bush photo-op. The fact that he feels not the least bit of shame about it should trouble just about any American.

I love how when the whol "Mission Accomplished" photo-op happened last year, all the TV pundits were saying there is your campaign commercial for 2004. They were right, but it's the Democrats using it to show how misguided the entire Iraqi war has been.

The worst part, in my opinion, was that the boat was very close to the US coast, but everyone on board had to wait like 3 more days before going home because of a photo op.

That must have been aggrivating, being able to see the shore, but be stuck on the boat because your commander in chief wants to do a publicity stunt.