Mission Accomplished speech

File:USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72) Mission Accomplished.jpg returning to port carrying the Mission Accomplished banner]]

File:20030501-15 lincoln11-515h.jpg poses for a photo with sailors immediately before his "Mission Accomplished" speech.]]

On May 1, 2003, Bush became the first sitting president to arrive in an arrested landing in a fixed-wing aircraft on an aircraft carrier{{cite news |first=M.L. |last=Lyke |title=Commander in chief's visit sets aircraft carrier's crew abuzz |work=Seattle Post-Intelligencer |date=May 2, 2003 |access-date=April 20, 2009 |url=http://www.seattlepi.com/local/120279_lincolnsub.html }}Richard Nixon had landed aboard the USS Hornet in a helicopter for the Apollo 11 recovery, but not in an arrested landing. {{cite book |title=Splashdown! NASA and the Navy |last=Blair |first=Don |year=2004 |publisher=Turner Publishing Company |isbn=978-1-56311-985-9 |oclc=56563004 |page=161 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sKhTmObavHIC |access-date=April 20, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160418235037/https://books.google.com/books?id=sKhTmObavHIC |archive-date=April 18, 2016 |url-status=live }} when he arrived at the USS Abraham Lincoln in a Lockheed S-3 Viking, dubbed Navy One, as the carrier lay just off the San Diego coast, having returned from combat operations in the Persian Gulf. He posed for photographs with pilots and members of the ship's crew while wearing a flight suit. A few hours later, he gave a speech announcing the end of major combat operations in the Iraq War. Behind and above him hung a banner that said "Mission Accomplished."

Bush was criticized for the historic jet landing on the carrier as an overly theatrical and expensive stunt. For instance, it was pointed out that the carrier was well within range of Bush's helicopter, and that a jet landing was not needed.{{cite news| url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/mission-accomplished-whodunit/ | work=CBS News | title='Mission Accomplished' Whodunit | date=October 29, 2003| access-date=June 7, 2006 | archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20060618021832/http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2003/10/29/iraq/main580661.shtml| archive-date= June 18, 2006| url-status= live}} Originally, White House officials had said the carrier was too far off the California coast for a helicopter landing and a jet would be needed to reach it. On the day of the speech, the Lincoln was only {{convert|30|mi|km}} from shore, but the administration still decided to go ahead with the jet landing. White House spokesman Ari Fleischer admitted that Bush "could have helicoptered, but the plan was already in place. Plus, he wanted to see a landing the way aviators see a landing."{{cite web|url=http://www.nationalreview.com/york/york060303.asp|title=Byron York on Presidential Lies on National Review Online| website=National Review |access-date=January 9, 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060108092134/http://www.nationalreview.com/york/york060303.asp|archive-date=January 8, 2006|url-status=live}} The Lincoln made a scheduled stop in Pearl Harbor shortly before the speech, docked in San Diego after the speech, and returned to her home port in Everett, Washington, on May 6, 2003.File:S3navy1krj.JPG" was retired and put in display at the National Museum of Naval Aviation.]]The S-3 that served as "Navy One" was retired from service and placed on display at the National Museum of Naval Aviation in Pensacola, Florida, on July 17, 2003. The museum makes it clear that Bush was a passenger – not the pilot – of the plane.{{cite web|url=http://collections.naval.aviation.museum/emuwebdoncoms/pages/doncoms/Display.php?irn=6671&QueryPage=%2FQuery.php|title=Viking (S-3B)|publisher=National Museum of Naval Aviation|access-date=December 1, 2008| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20090113013818/http://collections.naval.aviation.museum/emuwebdoncoms/pages/doncoms/Display.php?irn=6671&QueryPage=%2FQuery.php| archive-date= January 13, 2009 | url-status= live}} While Bush trained and served as a jet pilot in the Air National Guard flying F-102 fighter-interceptors, he was never trained to land on a carrier.

In the speech, Bush said, "Major combat operations in Iraq have ended. In the battle of Iraq, the United States and our allies have prevailed." He also said, "We have difficult work to do in Iraq. We are bringing order to parts of that country that remain dangerous." And he added, "Our mission continues...The War on Terror continues, yet it is not endless. We do not know the day of final victory, but we have seen the turning of the tide."

The speech and the "Mission Accomplished" banner were swiftly criticized by people who pointed out that the war was hardly over. Media questions about the banner appeared to surprise U.S. government officials, who initially offered different accounts of its origin and its meaning.

Navy Cmdr. Conrad Chun, a Pentagon spokesman, said the banner referred specifically to the aircraft carrier's 10-month deployment (the longest carrier deployment since the Vietnam War) and not the war itself: "It truly did signify a mission accomplished for the crew."{{cite web|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/mission-accomplished-whodunit/|title='Mission Accomplished' Whodunit| website=CBS News |date=October 29, 2003 |access-date=October 25, 2005|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060618021832/http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2003/10/29/iraq/main580661.shtml|archive-date=June 18, 2006|url-status=live}}

The White House claimed that the banner was requested by the crew of the ship, who did not have the facilities for producing such a banner. Later, the administration and naval sources said that the banner was the Navy's idea, White House staff members made the banner, and it was hung by Navy sailors. White House spokesman Scott McClellan told CNN, "We took care of the production of it. We have people to do those things. But the Navy actually put it up."{{cite news | url=http://www.cnn.com/2003/ALLPOLITICS/10/28/mission.accomplished/ | work=CNN | title=White House pressed on 'mission accomplished' sign | date=October 27, 2003 | access-date=April 21, 2010 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060715123158/http://www.cnn.com/2003/ALLPOLITICS/10/28/mission.accomplished/ | archive-date=July 15, 2006 | url-status=live | df=mdy-all }} According to John Dickerson of Time magazine, the White House later conceded that they hung the banner but still insisted it had been done at the request of the crew members.{{cite magazine | url=http://www.time.com/time/columnist/printout/0,8816,536170,00.html | magazine=Time | title=Bush's 'Bannergate' Shuffle | date=November 1, 2003 | access-date=April 21, 2010 | url-status=dead | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930062452/http://www.time.com/time/columnist/printout/0,8816,536170,00.html | archive-date=September 30, 2007 | df=mdy-all }}File:George W. Bush walks with Ryan Phillips to Navy One.jpg]]

File:George W Bush on the deck of the USS Abraham Lincoln.jpg crew]]Subsequently, the White House released a statement saying that the sign and Bush's visit referred to the initial invasion of Iraq.

When he received an advance copy of the speech, U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld took care to remove any use of the phrase "Mission Accomplished" in the speech itself. Later, when journalist Bob Woodward asked him about his changes to the speech, Rumsfeld responded: "I was in Baghdad, and I was given a draft of that thing to look at. And I just died, and I said my God, it's too conclusive. And I fixed it and sent it back... they fixed the speech, but not the sign."{{cite web|url=http://www.defenselink.mil/Transcripts/Transcript.aspx?TranscriptID=3744|title=United States Department of Defense|website=www.defenselink.mil|access-date=October 12, 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061011154011/http://www.defenselink.mil//Transcripts/Transcript.aspx?TranscriptID=3744|archive-date=October 11, 2006|url-status=live}}

Bush did offer a "Mission Accomplished" message to the troops in Afghanistan at Camp As Sayliyah on June 5, 2003 – about a month after the aircraft carrier speech: "America sent you on a mission to remove a grave threat and to liberate an oppressed people, and that mission has been accomplished."{{cite news | url=https://www.usatoday.com/news/world/iraq/2003-06-05-bush-qatar_x.htm | work=USA Today | title=Bush to troops: Mission accomplished | first1=Judy | last1=Keen | date=June 5, 2003 | access-date=April 21, 2010 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090504225450/http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/iraq/2003-06-05-bush-qatar_x.htm | archive-date=May 4, 2009 | url-status=live | df=mdy-all }}

For critics of the war, the photo-op became a symbol of the Bush administration's unrealistic goals and perceptions of the conflict. Anti-war activists questioned the integrity and realism of Bush's "major combat" statement. The banner came to symbolize the irony of Bush giving a victory speech only a few weeks after the beginning of the fifth longest war in American history.{{cite web|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/us-military-deaths-in-iraq-war-at-4452-wednesday-according-to-associated-press-count/2011/05/10/AFELrghG_story.html|title=- The Washington Post|via=www.washingtonpost.com|access-date=September 5, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181210022110/https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/us-military-deaths-in-iraq-war-at-4452-wednesday-according-to-associated-press-count/2011/05/10/AFELrghG_story.html|archive-date=December 10, 2018|url-status=dead}}{{cite web|url=http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/11138/1147192-374-0.stm|title=Why can't we stop our wars?|access-date=July 13, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111130193226/http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/11138/1147192-374-0.stm|archive-date=November 30, 2011|url-status=live}}{{cite news |url=https://www.ft.com/content/16e5daf2-70f2-11e0-962a-00144feabdc0 |title=Pentagon rethinks Iraq pull-out plans |website=Financial Times |date=April 27, 2011 |url-access=subscription }}

In a less publicized incident, Rumsfeld also declared an end to major combat operations in Afghanistan on May 1, a few hours before Bush's announcement.{{cite news | url=http://www.cnn.com/2003/WORLD/asiapcf/central/05/01/afghan.combat/ | work=CNN | title=Rumsfeld: Major combat over in Afghanistan | date=May 1, 2003 | access-date=April 21, 2010 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080511191608/http://www.cnn.com/2003/WORLD/asiapcf/central/05/01/afghan.combat/ | archive-date=May 11, 2008 | url-status=live | df=mdy-all }}

On April 30, 2008, White House Press Secretary Dana Perino said: "President Bush is well aware that the banner should have been much more specific and said, 'Mission accomplished for these sailors who are on this ship on their mission.' And we have certainly paid a price for not being more specific on that banner."{{cite web |title=Press Briefing by Dana Perino |url=https://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/news/releases/2008/04/20080430-5.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180414234724/https://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/news/releases/2008/04/20080430-5.html |archive-date=April 14, 2018 |access-date=September 5, 2017 |website=georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov}} In November 2008, soon after the presidential election in which Democrat Barack Obama was elected to succeed him, Bush indicated that he regretted the use of the banner, telling CNN, "To some, it said, well, 'Bush thinks the war in Iraq is over,' when I didn't think that. It conveyed the wrong message."{{cite web|url=https://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/11/12/bush.regrets/index.html|title=Bush: 'Mission accomplished' a mistake|date=November 12, 2008|website=CNN Politics|first=Alexander|last=Mooney|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200807162001/https://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/11/12/bush.regrets/index.html|archive-date=August 7, 2020|url-status=dead|access-date=June 15, 2020}} In January 2009, Bush said, "Clearly, putting 'Mission Accomplished' on an aircraft carrier was a mistake."{{cite news|url=http://content.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1871060,00.html|website=Time Magazine|title=Seeking a Legacy, Bush Cites Security|date=January 12, 2009|access-date=April 21, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140813014500/http://content.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1871060,00.html|archive-date=August 13, 2014|url-status=dead|first=Mark|last=Thompson}}

In 2010, the "Mission Accomplished" banner was transferred from the National Archives to the collection of the George W. Bush Presidential Center. The banner is not on display.{{cite news|url=https://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/military/2010-11-17-banner17_ST_N.htm|website=USA Today|title='Mission Accomplished' banner could go up in Bush library|date=November 17, 2010|access-date=August 16, 2021|first=Tom|last=Vanden Brook}}

American deaths in the Iraq War totaled 104 when President Bush gave his Mission Accomplished speech. A further 3,424 Americans were killed in the war through February 2011, when American combat operations there halted.{{cite web |title=Casualties in Iraq - Antiwar.com |url=http://antiwar.com/casualties/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141007084135/http://antiwar.com/casualties/ |archive-date=October 7, 2014 |access-date=May 25, 2015 |website=antiwar.com}}

Iraq War opponents have subsequently used the phrase "mission accomplished" in an ironic sense, while others have non-politically cited it as an example of a general public relations failure. In addition, some mainstream outlets questioned the state of the war with derivatives of this statement. For example, the October 6, 2003, cover of Time featured the headline "Mission Not Accomplished":{{cite magazine| url=http://www.time.com/time/covers/1101031006/ | magazine=Time | title=Mission Not Accomplished | date=June 10, 2003 | access-date=April 21, 2010| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20100420002931/http://www.time.com/time/covers/1101031006/| archive-date= April 20, 2010 | url-status= dead}}

On April 14, 2018, President Donald Trump tweeted "Mission Accomplished!" following a US-led airstrike on Syria in response to the alleged use of chemical weapons by the Assad regime. Critics were quick to point out the similarities to Bush's speech.{{Cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/retropolis/wp/2018/04/14/trumps-mission-accomplished-tweet-and-the-premature-declaration-that-haunted-bush/ |first=Cleve R. Jr. |last=Wootson |title=Trump's 'Mission Accomplished' tweet, and the premature declaration that haunted George W. Bush |newspaper=The Washington Post |access-date=April 15, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180415014848/https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/retropolis/wp/2018/04/14/trumps-mission-accomplished-tweet-and-the-premature-declaration-that-haunted-bush/ |archive-date=April 15, 2018 |url-status=live }}

==See also==

• US-led intervention in Iraq (2014–2021)
• Dewey Defeats Truman

{{Reflist}}

{{commons category}}

{{wikisource|Mission Accomplished}}

• [http://www.cnn.com/2003/ALLPOLITICS/05/01/bush.carrier.landing/ Commander in Chief lands on USS Lincoln] CNN.com, May 2, 2003
• [https://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/news/releases/2003/05/20030501-15.html President Bush Announces Major Combat Operations in Iraq Have Ended], White House transcript of Bush's speech, May 1, 2003
• [https://www.cbsnews.com/news/mission-accomplished-whodunit/ 'Mission Accomplished' Whodunit] CBSnews.com, October 29, 2003
• [https://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/news/releases/2003/10/20031029-2.html White House press release discussing/explaining 'Mission Accomplished' banner], October 29, 2003

{{Iraq War}}

{{Presidency of George W. Bush}}

Mission Accomplished Speech, 2003

Category:2003 speeches

Category:2003 in military history

Category:American political catchphrases

Category:2003 invasion of Iraq

Category:May 2003 in the United States

Category:Speeches by George W. Bush

Category:Political quotes

Category:George W. Bush administration controversies

Category:2003 quotations