In May 2003, President Bush landed on an aircraft carrier in a flight suit [see here
],
stood under a banner proclaiming "Mission Accomplished," and
triumphantly announced that major combat operations were over in Iraq.
Since that time, 900 U.S. troops have died, key cities have fallen
under the control of rebel forces, and the size of the insurgency has
quadrupled. Knowing what he knows now, would the president pull the
same stunt again? "Absolutely." In a slap in the face to the families
of the 900 troops who have died in the last 16 months, Bush informed
Fox News' Bill O'Reilly that he wouldn't change a thing about the
spectacle he put on aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln. Bush told a
surprised O'Reilly, "You bet I'd do it again." This April, even the
president's top political advisor, Karl Rove -- not known for easily
admitting error -- said that he regretted the use of the "Mission
Accomplished" banner. [more ]- Kerry Rips Bush on 'Mission Accomplished' Remark [more ]