Mission Accomplished - Happy Anniversary

Three years ago today, Commander Codpiece landed on the aircraft carrier and declared "Major combat operations have ended. In the battle of Iraq, the United States and our allies have prevailed" and we've all seen how well that turned out.

It defies belief... this despicable man chose to start a war, a decision that caused thousands of people to die, thousands of families to be devastated and he play acts being the hero. Truly, he is beneath contempt.

Today he "Hails a 'Turning Point' in Iraq".

From Think Progress:

May 1, 2003 vs Today
U.S. Troops Wounded 542 17,469
U.S. Troops Killed 139 2,400
Size of U.S. Forces 150,000 132,000
Size of Iraqi Security Forces 7,000-9000 250,500
Number of Insurgents 5,000 15,000-20,000
Insurgent Attacks Per Day 8 75
Cost to U.S. Taxpayers $79 billion $320 billion
Approval of Bush’s Handling of Iraq 75% 37%
Percentage of Americans who Believe The Iraq War Was “Worth Fighting” 70% 41%
Bush’s Overall Job Approval 71% 38%

Senator Harry Reid puts it this way:

Today, our country marks an unfortunate anniversary--the three year anniversary of President Bush donning a flight suit to declare "Mission Accomplished" in Iraq.

President Bush's dramatic landing on the aircraft carrier the Abraham Lincoln will be marked historically as a public relations stunt gone horribly wrong.

Since President Bush rendered his judgment of "mission accomplished," more than 2,200 Americans have lost their lives, about 20,000 have been wounded, many hundreds of billions of taxpayer dollars have been expended, and now, Iraq is engaged in a civil war--the degree of which is unknown.

The image of President Bush standing in front of the "Mission Accomplished" banner has been etched into the minds of the American people as a metaphor for the Bush White House's misleading and dangerous incompetence. It shows a self-described "war President" not ready for the war, or the difficult problems of securing the peace--problems the president and his Secretary of Defense simply ignored or did not understand following the invasion of Iraq.

On this day three years ago, President Bush announced that "major combat operations in Iraq have ended. In the battle of Iraq, the United States and our allies have prevailed."

Three years later, with fighting and violence continuing across Iraq, we know that declaration was woefully premature. In fact, the President and his team's mismanagement and poor planning have now stretched the Iraq War to a length and monetary cost that nearly match those of World War II.