Candidates Weigh In on 5th Anniversary of ‘Mission Accomplished’ Banner
The presidential candidates weighed in Thursday on the fifth anniversary of President Bush declaring the end of major combat operations in Iraq below the now-infamous “Mission Accomplished” banner.
All three candidates were critical of those statements made aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln:
John McCain: “To state the obvious, I thought it was wrong at the time … all of those comments contributed over time to the frustration and sorrow of Americans because those statements and comments did not comport with the facts on the ground. In hearing after hearing in the Armed Services Committee and forums around America I complained loud and long that the strategy was failing and we couldn’t succeed … Obviously the presidents bare the responsibility. We all do. But do I blame him for that specific banner? I have no knowledge of that. I can’t blame him for that.”
Hillary Clinton: “The fifth anniversary of President Bush’s ‘Mission Accomplished’ speech comes the same week as a chief architect of the Bush administration’s war in Iraq conceded ‘We were clueless on counterinsurgency.’ That statement confirms what we have all known: the planning and strategy was flawed. Our troops deserved and deserve better. All Americans honor the service and sacrifice of our men and women of the Armed Forces of the United States in Iraq. We are grateful for the tremendous burden they have carried. Our troops have done their job. The path forward is to use American diplomacy and our allies to allow U.S. forces to come home, and turn responsibility back to Iraq and its people … that is the plan that I will carry out as president.”
Barack Obama: “Five years after George Bush declared ‘mission accomplished’ and John McCain told the American people that ‘the end is very much in sight’ in Iraq, we have lost thousands of lives, spent half a trillion dollars, and we’re no safer. It’s time to turn the page on Washington’s false promises and failed judgments on foreign policy, so that we can finally ease the enormous burdens on our troops and their families, and end a war that should’ve never been authorized. I am the only candidate in this race who opposed the war in Iraq when Washington was falling in line with George Bush, and as President I will end this war.”
obama was in no position to vote on the war, just words obama.he thinks he is the only one to end the war, sure while he starts another war in the u.s.obama has done enough damage , he need not do any more.no one really knows how obama would have voted if he had the chance. probably present.
Well, how would Obama react if he was president and the intelligents told him they were winning the war the president only can go by what his people report to him. I do not think Pres. Bush said this just to lie to the american people, for gods sake. Also Just what would Obama do if he gets pres. and is hit with a national crisis?????? It is easy to find fault with someone, but walk a mile in their shoes.
No comments here? This is not news we want to hear! We want to hear Wright making more mess so we can link him up with BO.
We want to promote the guilt by association even though all proofs (background, parentage, proclamations, actions, style, manner) contradicts the guilt by association. No. We want blood. Why did he go to church for 20 years. This guy was saying this every sermon (even though a good oppo research only came up with 2 minutes of cut outs out of 60 minutes x 52 weeks x 20 years). We’ve never heard a total of 2 minutes of stuff in church we disagree with. Oh but my pastor calls me a sinner for using birth control so that I dont have children I cant raise right. Oh I should have walked out years ago. Everything else he says that benefits me doesnt matter. Oh I’m so patriotic and offended. I’m so family oriented! Not one of my friends ever said anything unpatriotic or offensive I disagree with. I surround myself with ideal americans. I found my excuse to reject this guy! I will never let this go! He must be wrong| He must be guilty! He should even be impeached for what someone else said!
Yeah, now, Hillary’s banner would read what? “I dodged a snipers bullet”
and Obama’s would be….I support the troops, but never wanted to be one!
That’s a great cast, I swear.
Why dont we just elect Petraus or Powell or any of the retired geneals currently in politics? Serving in the military would save our economy and the $4 gas and the foreclosure and the continued enhancement of China and other developing countries while our currency goes down. Only those who served inthe military are patriotic. They have the best training to make the best economic decisions. That’s why Bush was better than Clinton. I keep forgetting which one served or appeared to serve and which one dodged. And what about Cheney? Oh I’ve found my metric to determine how I vote!
Does anyone see what is going on in the middle East?
Iraq is one country.
If we pull out of Iraq, before it is stable, we are as much to blame as the factions, when it falls into chaos!
We need to finish the job,…..and maintain a presence there.
Bush has taken us from the biggest cash surplus in American history to it’s greatest debt.
How does that make bush a better president than Clinton?
Eisenhower tried to warn you about the military industrial complex taking over, guess what
THEY ALREADY HAVE. Americas military budget is greater than the entire world COMBINED.
You want to put these guys in charge? They already are.