In 2003, McCain Claimed ‘Mission Accomplished’ In Iraq, Now Claims ‘I Thought It Was Wrong At The Time’
In 2003, McCain Claimed ‘Mission Accomplished’ In Iraq, Now Claims ‘I Thought It Was Wrong At The Time’
Speaking in Cleveland earlier today, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) defended President Bush, saying he should not be held responsible for the “Mission Accomplished” banner that was visible aboard the U.S.S. Abraham Lincoln when Bush declared that “major combat operations in Iraq have ended” on May 1, 2003:
“Do I blame him for that specific banner? I can’t,” McCain said. “But I do say that statements are made, ‘a few dead-enders,’ ‘last throes,’ those are, as opposed to the banner, direct statements which were contradicted by the facts on the ground.”
McCain then said of the banner: “I thought it was wrong at the time.” But while the White House has actually acknowledged making an error, McCain himself used the term “mission accomplished” when talking about the Iraq war on at least two occasions in 2003:
– “Their morale could not be higher. This is a mission accomplished. They know how much influence Saddam Hussein had on the Iraqi people, how much more difficult it made to get their cooperation.” [This Week, ABC, 12/14/03]
– During an appearance on Fox News, host Neil Cavuto said, “many argue the conflict isn’t over.” McCain answered, “Well, then why was there a banner that said mission accomplished on the aircraft carrier? Look, the — I have said a long time that reconstruction of Iraq would be a long, long, difficult process, but the conflict — the major conflict is over, the regime change has been accomplished.” [FOX, Your World With Neil Cavuto, 6/11/03]
Watch it:
Because McCain is running for president while an unpopular war –- which he supports — is raging in Iraq, it seems he must both defend Bush on “mission accomplished” and, at same time, distance himself from it. But despite McCain’s similar rhetoric on the war “at the time,” Washington Post reporter Michael Abramowitz seemed happy to help McCain in his effort during a “Post Politics Hour” web chat today on washingtonpost.com:
ABRAMOWITZ: I think McCain will certainly be attacked over the war during the campaign but I doubt that he will be blamed for “Mission Accomplished” because he was always more sober than than the White House about progress in Iraq.
Here are some of McCain’s past assessments of the Iraq war that, according to Abramowitz, have been “more sober” than Bush’s:
– “I believe that this conflict is still going to be relatively short.” [NBC, 3/30/03]
–- “It’s clear that the end is very much in sight.” [ABC, 4/9/03]
–- “I think the situation on the ground is going to improve,” he says. “I do think that progress is being made in a lot of Iraq. Overall, I think a year from now, we will have made a fair amount of progress if we stay the course. If I thought we weren’t making progress, I’d be despondent.” [The Hill, 12/8/05]
Someday the media will realize that a McCain presidency will actually be a “third Bush term.”
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37 Responses to “In 2003, McCain Claimed ‘Mission Accomplished’ In Iraq, Now Claims ‘I Thought It Was Wrong At The Time’”
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Well, I suppose if you move the “mission” goalposts around enough, you could claim the banner referred to ANY kind of success — even if the “mission” was getting Dubya out of the jet and onto the flight deck of the USS Abraham Lincoln without tripping over himself.
May 1st, 2008 at 5:14 pmMaybe we can put up a “MISSION ACCOMPLISHED” banner when the yokel known as W is out of the White House. Hang that banner on all sides of the White House.
May 1st, 2008 at 5:18 pmI would like to state unequivocally that I cannot remember unequivocally what both the question or the word unequivocally means. No more questions
May 1st, 2008 at 5:19 pmJohn “I like plastics” McSame.
51 Americans died in Iraq this past month, making April 2008 the deadliest for U.S. troops since last summer–the bloodiest of the war. This represents a more than 30 percent increase in combat fatalities over March (during the Basra fighting). However, more telling than that, is the fact that American deaths in Iraq are up 122 percent since December.
May 1st, 2008 at 5:25 pmStuff like this is great - Obama is going to cream him when the time comes. Shucks, Zippy the Pinhead could make short work of this dummy.
May 1st, 2008 at 5:31 pmThe banner was part of a rovian photo-op. bush sauntered in his flight jacket, the ship was moved because of lighting issues, the banner was placed behind bush, as he spoke.
McCain is a fool.
May 1st, 2008 at 5:37 pmSo he was for the banner before he was against it?
May 1st, 2008 at 5:40 pmReality: 4,065 Dead American Soldiers, http://icasualties.org/oif/(zrf1rrv1fllgc3j0bbgktgiy)/Default.aspx , untold thousands and thousands maimed for life with all types of wounds, and the many hundreds of thousands of Iraqis killed. Oh Yes Indeed - Mission Accomplished and the Occupation Continues.
May 1st, 2008 at 5:40 pmI’m looking forward to saying “the end is very much in sight” on the bush era…and mccain type sycophants who suppport the activities of this criminal administration.
May 1st, 2008 at 5:49 pmThe only mission was brainwashing the American public and justifying the scare tactics used to undermine their civil liberties. Yeah, I guess they were successful.
May 1st, 2008 at 5:51 pmLet’s all chip in and get mcain a golf cart with a presidental seal on the side so he can cruise around Lesiure World and pretend he’s the president. He probably won’t know the difference.
May 1st, 2008 at 5:58 pmChris L–51 American died in Iraq this past month….
So 5 years later, after all the “progress” and the successes of the “surge” this month’s US military death-rate in just six months has increased to just 4 human beings shy of the AVERAGE monthly death rate from the beginning of the invasion to 18 months afterward (13 months after “Mission Accomplished”).
As you note, the trend is rising significantly. I think it would be reasonable to predict a return to the 5-year average by August.
Here are some contextual stats I put together a little over a month ago:
US Military Dead in Iraq
Period 1: March 20, 2003—-Sept 6, 2004 (approx. 18 months) total: 1,002 (ending 3 months after establishmentof of Iraqi Interim Govt).
Period 2: Sept 7, 2004—-Oct 26, 2005 (approx 13 months) total: 2,000 (ending with Iraqi elections)
Period 3: Oct 27, 2005—-Dec 31 2006 (approx 13 months) total: 3,000
Period 4: Jan 1, 2006—Mar 23, 2007 (approx 15 months) total 3, 995 (official= 3,991)
Average death rate per period (1000 / months ):
Period 1 = 55 per month.
Period 2 = 76 per month
Period 3 = 76 per month
Period 4 = 66 per month
Calendar year average (4000 / 5 years) = 800 per year or 66 per month.
The Period 4 (“Surge”) monthly average death rate was 13% LOWER than Period 2 and Period 3.
May 1st, 2008 at 5:59 pmThe Period 4 monthly average death rate is 20 % HIGHER than Period 1.
The Period 4 monthly average death rate (66) is THE SAME as the 5-year average death rate per calendar-month (66).
This is his second inane comment in 24 hours. Yesterday he said the Minnesota bridge collapse came from bork barrel spending. Today, he gives President Bush a free pass on “Mission Accomplished”. Please elect someone who understands root causes and benchmark completion as McCain doesn’t.
http://stateofthedivision.blogspot.com/2008/05/inane-mccain.html
May 1st, 2008 at 6:05 pmMcCain: insane and senile: what a great combo…
May 1st, 2008 at 6:14 pmAnd, of course, my friends, the Don’t muss my hair media will give John Sidney McCain III a free ‘What? Us Question U?’ pass on this shit as well.
May 1st, 2008 at 6:15 pmPerhaps if we had A candidate the Democratic party could start pointing out all the inconsistencies this lying sack of fecal matter spews daily.
May 1st, 2008 at 6:22 pmHow is this man even still a real candidate? Why isn’t the media doing its job and calling him out for the dozens of flip flops he has already demonstrated? Why aren’t his poll numbers as low as Bush’s? It’s just incredible that this man could actually pose a threat in November!
May 1st, 2008 at 6:24 pmWhat?????
ANOTHER McLame flipflop….?!?!?!?
I’m shocked, I tell you: SHOCKED.
May 1st, 2008 at 6:34 pmOn the Senate floor, McCain proclaimed “massive victory” in Iraq
That’s just his way of telling America his diaper is full. At his age, every bowel movement is a “massive victory.”
May 1st, 2008 at 6:43 pmHow about all the 90 day comments.
May 1st, 2008 at 6:44 pmHow many times were we told to give it another 90 days.
How many years has this being going on?
McCain has built it now up to 90 years+.
Flippity Floppity McSame does a stance hoppity.
May 1st, 2008 at 6:47 pmI know he’s old. Okay, really, really old, but does he really not grasp the fact that everything he’s said or done for the last 15 - 20 years, at least, is on FILM somewhere? That he can’t claim that he said something he didn’t or didn’t say something he did because it’s all on tape somewhere?
I can’t wait to start donating to the 527s to run some fun and creative, but unfortunately all too true, ads against Grandpa McSame!
PEACE
May 1st, 2008 at 6:49 pmKimmy says:
How many times were we told to give it another 90 days.
As many times as we’ve been told we’re turning the corner! Don’t you get it? We’re running in circles, letting the clock run out 3 months at a time… all the while, the private contractors and oil companies rake in HUGE profits.
And who said BushCo wasn’t good at planning…
PEACE
May 1st, 2008 at 6:51 pmGuess McLame doesn’t know about the internet, google or youtube.
May 1st, 2008 at 6:54 pmMaybe his crack staff of lobbyists should brief him before he opens his mouth.
McNugget Flounders more and more every day.
May 1st, 2008 at 6:56 pmBush is responsible for thousands of soldiers and many tens of thousands of innocent Iraqis losing their lives, not to mention so-called insurgents, and he can’t even take responsibility for his own banner?! Words escape me.
His own Secretary of Defense tells us that “Mission Accomplished” was in the President’s speech. At Rumsfeld’s request the words were stricken from the speech, but he didn’t know that they would be the backdrop for the speech until he saw the final setup.
The whole thing was a photo-op from word go. The aircraft carrier was delayed for several days so the photo-op could happen. It was just off the coast, but rotated so the cameras would see open water behind the President during his speech. The enormous “Mission Accomplished” banner was brought by the White House advance crew and framed carefully above the President in the television shots. The President flew in on a jet rather than taking a more prosaic helicopter ride.
And then of course the contents of the speech, while not containing the words “Mission Accomplished” was all about how the mission had been accomplished. How it was only clean up from here on out. The tide had turned in Iraq and in Afghanistan. The troops would be drawn down. The anti-war critics were wrong because it had been a cake walk after all.
Five years on the President’s magnificent photo-op, his crotch bulged by flight straps and loving described by television anchors, looks far more ridiculous than anyone could have imagined.
May 1st, 2008 at 6:58 pmaqua21885 Says:
How is this man even still a real candidate? Why isn’t the media doing its job and calling him out for the dozens of flip flops he has already demonstrated? Why aren’t his poll numbers as low as Bush’s? It’s just incredible that this man could actually pose a threat in November!
May 1st, 2008 at 6:24 pm
McCain is a sacrificial lamb, well hawk actually. The GOP knows this election is lost so they “reward” McCain with the nomination. He ties himself to Bush and “takes one for the team”. Then, following their crushing humiliation, the GOP will announce a “new direction” and set themselves up for 2012. This way they make a pretense of contesting the election and rid themselves of the loose cannon McCain.
May 1st, 2008 at 7:05 pmpete.
I hope the new GOP direction involves less spending and better budget control, less bigotry, more liberty and possibly new candidates that look like the anchorettes on Fox.
May 1st, 2008 at 7:28 pmSave all these McCain quotes folks — they will comprise an arsenal against him this fall.
May 1st, 2008 at 7:39 pmBut senator, you memory is so short lived. How could you attempt to be president with such lapses?
May 1st, 2008 at 8:01 pmThe corporate media propaganda machine that brought us Bush, his criminal and incompetent policies and the Iraq war/occupation has a new emporer to promote.
They are the true enemy of America.
May 1st, 2008 at 8:26 pmAnd here we go again thread #5 on the crazy basterd for today…Ya could of just waited and lumped all 5 thread’s into a new and improved Think Fast for the mccrazy……
May 1st, 2008 at 8:33 pm.
McFish on deck!
.
May 1st, 2008 at 9:25 pmYou can’t get straight talk from a forked tongue.
May 1st, 2008 at 10:27 pmMcCain is old. He doesn’t understand the concept of videotape.
May 1st, 2008 at 10:45 pmMaybe we can put up a “MISSION ACCOMPLISHED” banner when the yokel known as W is out of the White House. Hang that banner on all sides of the White House. — SWilliams41
*******************************************************
On the day that Congress finally gets its act together and succeeds in impeaching Dubya and removing him from office — something which doesn’t look as if it’s going to happen any time soon, and time is running out — then it will be fitting to post that banner, but not until then. Letting the clock run out on Dubya’s last term as President ain’t exactly “MISSION ACCOMPLISHED” — it’s more like a white flag of surrender.
Actually, if anything, Dubya could drape a “MISSION ACCOMPLISHED” banner across the front of the White House on his last day in office and finally have it reflect the truth — as in, “I drove this country right into the ground AND I GOT AWAY WITH IT”…
May 2nd, 2008 at 2:35 amGotta love it. The MSM won’t call MyCane a flip-flopper, yet called Kerry one every chance they got.
May 2nd, 2008 at 1:42 pmWhy doesn’t Cindy let John use her Gulfstream to go help wage the good fight in Iraq? He could crash yet another plane and become a prisoner of war again.
Some maverick, huh?