Image – President George W. Bush declaring ‘Mission Accomplished’” (May 2003)

Chapter 31

President George W. Bush declaring ‘Mission Accomplished’” (May 2003)

This photo of President George W. Bush was taken aboard the aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln on May 1, 2003, as it lay anchored just off the coast of San Diego. In his controversial speech Bush declared that major combat operations in Iraq were over, less than two months after US forces had invaded the country.   The banner behind Bush loudly proclaims “Mission Accomplished” when in fact Iraq was soon to descend into chaos and civil war. By the middle of 2003, an insurgency against American forces had erupted   By the end of 2006 over 4,000 American soldiers had been killed, and over 25,000 severely injured.   While the insurgency was finally put down, Iraq remains an unstable, deeply divided country and the goals America hoped to achieve in 2003 appear to be unfulfilled.