Posted on 04/28/2007 5:25:47 PM PDT by r-q-tek86
Although a quick search of the Web draws up the speech, available here (with video and audio links), rare is the online news service that links to President Bush's remarks on May 1, 2003, aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln.
Notice, for example, no link to the speech in this story at CBSNews.com that follows Sen. Hillary Clinton's (D-N.Y.) latest swipe at the Iraq war. (see related post here)
Since the media don't reprint excerpts of the speech nor give readers the links to the original source material, here are some comments from May 1, 2003, that point to President Bush warning Americans of an ongoing struggle to establish Iraqi democracy and counter the threat of terrorism (portions in bold are my emphasis):
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.)
[...]
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.)
He’s been consistent from the beginning.... September 20, 2001
This war will not be like the war against Iraq a decade ago, with a decisive liberation of territory and a swift conclusion. It will not look like the air war above Kosovo two years ago, where no ground troops were used and not a single American was lost in combat.
Our response involves far more than instant retaliation and isolated strikes. Americans should not expect one battle, but a lengthy campaign, unlike any other we have ever seen. It may include dramatic strikes, visible on TV, and covert operations, secret even in success. We will starve terrorists of funding, turn them one against another, drive them from place to place, until there is no refuge or no rest. And we will pursue nations that provide aid or safe haven to terrorism. Every nation, in every region, now has a decision to make. Either you are with us, or you are with the terrorists. (Applause.) From this day forward, any nation that continues to harbor or support terrorism will be regarded by the United States as a hostile regime.
Is this about that “Mission Accomplished” banner?Until the all-knowing, all-Bush-bashing media told me differently, I thought the “Mission Accomplished” banner referred to the ship’s mission, not the overall war on terror which I never expected to be “accomplished” in such a short time. Silly me.
I think the “Mission” that was “Accomplished” was the overthrow of the Saddam Government. That mission had been accomplished when he spoke on the carrier.
The left is expert at taking things out of context and assigning a new meaning to it. And if it weren’t for FR and a few other sites, no one would know the difference. It makes you wonder how the sixties would have been different if algore had just invented the internets earlier.
you’ll love the comic strip here...
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.)
Plan hasn't changed! President Bush was not counting on the demonRATS becoming traitors to our country and sentencing the Iraqi people to death.
Great post. Thank YOu.
There is a really important point here that we shouldn’t overlook:
With current technology, WHENEVER a reference is made to remarks of another, I think a serious, legitimate reporting effort should include links to the original material.
When a reporter is preaching to “the choir” no one will check it out, nor will the lazy, but that’s ok. Failure by the reporter to include access to the original material, for those of us who care to check, suggests that the reporter himself is either lazy, part of “the choir”, or deliberately trying to shape the reader’s opinion.
I know that’s what he said. We know that’s what he said. You may want to email that article to the WH. Bush has done admitted regret for what he said.
It’s a shame this WH allows democrat propaganda to go unopposed. It’s not helping our troops.
Face it. The opposition believes what they want to believe and facts do not matter one bit.
You will convince no one who believes the contrary of anything at all and forever.
Only you think facts make a difference.
They simply do not.
nope....that is the spun lie that has set in concrete
The MISSION ACCOMPLISHED was the carriers return from her deployment but in this deployment NO ONE PERSON WAS INJURED,not even a scratch.That never had happened before and was a salute to the brave men and wimmens aboard that cruiser
The Mission of the Lincoln was accomplished.
The lying media twisted that into some else entirely less precise, while corrupting the ordinary language as usual.
Hey, stop trying to cloud the issue with facts!
On board the USS Lincoln. Link provided to the transcript of the speech.
thanks
Yes, and remember how the Democrats complained for 3 days after that how Bush misused the military to make a “campaign commercial”? You don’t hear that any more, but at the time there were speeches on the senate floor about how improper it was for Bush to fly in on an airplane and be under that banner because it was too political.
I made a bet at the time with a liberal buddy that Bush would never use that picture in a commercial.
Turned out he was right — it was used in campaign commercials — FOR THE DEMOCRATS, who started using it to say that Bush was “out of touch”.
“Our mission continues. “
-GWB
Gee, that sounds a bit different from “mission accomplished”, don’t you think, news folks?
Do you not think that facts make a difference?
I know I have a slim chance of convincing a true believer, but I like to be prepared for them when they start spinning. Facts may not win them over, but it shuts them up.
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