Mission Not Accomplished

by BB2

An evaluation prepared by the Office of Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, 4/30/07

FOUR YEARS LATER, THE
MISSION CLEARLY HAS
NOT BEEN
“ACCOMPLISHED”

Facts Tell a Very Different Story

On May 1, 2003, President Bush spoke on the deck of the USS Abraham Lincoln in front of a banner proclaiming “Mission Accomplished.” Four years later, it is clear that the President’s speech was a political photo-op that ignored the reality on the ground:
• U.S. troops killed in Iraq since “Mission Accomplished”: 3,196 [DoD, 4/30/07]
• U.S. troops wounded in Iraq since “Mission Accomplished”: 24,370 [DoD, 4/30/07]
• Civilian casualties in Iraq: estimated 54,000 – 76,500 [Brookings Institution, 4/16/07]

A LOOK BACK AT PRESIDENT BUSH’S WORDS ON MAY 1, 2003:

“In the battle of Iraq, the United States and our allies have prevailed. And now our coalition is engaged in securing and reconstructing that country.”

• A report issued today by the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction shows that rebuilding in Iraq has not made much progress. It states that “the U.S. project to rebuild Iraq remains far short of its targets, leaving the country plagued by power outages, inadequate oil production and shortages of clean water and health care.” [The Washington Post, 4/30/07]

“We're bringing order to parts of that country that remain dangerous.”

• A human rights report by the United Nations mission in Iraq declared that Iraq is suffering a “breakdown in law and order.” [The Washington Post, 4/26/07]

“We've begun the search for hidden chemical and biological weapons and already
know of hundreds of sites that will be investigated.”

• No weapons of mass destruction were found.

“We're helping to rebuild Iraq, where the dictator built palaces for himself, instead of hospitals and schools.”

• “Only 15 of 141 primary health-care centers have been completed -- and only eight of those are open to the public.” [The Washington Post, 4/30/07]

“And we will stand with the new leaders of Iraq as they establish a government of, by, and for the Iraqi people.”

• The Iraqi Parliament is deeply divided by sect, and “there has been little or no progress in achieving three key political benchmarks set by the Bush administration: new laws governing the sharing of Iraq's oil resources and allowing many former members of the banned Baath Party to return to their jobs, and amendments to Iraq's constitution.” [The Washington Post, 4/26/07]