Wednesday, September 29, 2004
"Mission Accomplished." I thought it was a great moment, and a well deserved moment for the troops and all involved. But there are those who have to find fault and turn a great moment around for their own purposes. It's understandable (if not excusable).
From Tommy Franks' book:
And there was another reason to make a public statement about the end of Phase III [decisive combat operations]. There were Coalition members who didn't want to participate in combat, but had said they would help once that phase was over. "I'd like to see some of them start bringing in their reconstruction and humanitarian assistance troops," I told Rumsfeld.
"What do you have in mind, Tom?"
"It would be good if the President could acknowledge the success of major combat operations, Mr. Secretary." I tried to find the right words. "The troops have accomplished every mission we gave them. There's never been a combat operation as successful as Iraqi Freedom."
"I'll talk to the President," Don Rumsfeld said.
Unintended consequences. [Italics in the original. -Sol]
I was grateful on the first of May for the President's words. Little did I know the criticism he would face for doing what I had recommended.
So the mission was accomplished, and in spectacular fashion - even if there were more missions to come. And the announcement had a practical purpose - to trigger the involvement of nations who did not want to engage in Phase III, but were willing to help in reconstruction - even if some nations had no intention of doing so, instead hoping for American failure.
Despite the criticism, I've never heard the President or any member of his administration say the "Mission Accomplished" event was someone else's idea or try to disown it in any way, and here's retired General Tommy Franks owning up to it in spite of not having to.
That's called accountability. It's also called leadership. It's one of the reasons George Bush is leading in the polls.
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You don't remember anybody in the Administration trying to deny responsibility for the 'Mission Accomplished' sign???
Try looking for "denied 'Mission Accomplished sign'" in your favorite search engine!
For instance:
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http://www.factcheck.org/SpecialReports.aspx@docID=78.html
I stand corrected. He did, in fact, explain where the idea came from. Of course I've also heard him defend it as the right thing to do, regardless of where it came from (as he should).