4th Anniversary of the Speech President Bush Gave on the Deck of the USS "Abraham Lincoln"

Floor Speech

4TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE SPEECH PRESIDENT BUSH GAVE ON THE DECK OF THE U.S.S. ``ABRAHAM LINCOLN''

* Mr. VAN HOLLEN. Madam Speaker, today marks the 4th anniversary of the speech President Bush gave on the deck of the U.S.S. Abraham Lincoln in which he told the American people that hostilities in Iraq and Afghanistan were over.

* Standing under a broad ``Mission Accomplished'' banner, the President congratulated Defense Secretary Rumsfeld for a job well done and declared Iraq free and the Taliban and Al Qaeda in Afghanistan destroyed.

* Like many Americans, the image of the President under that banner 4 years ago still stands out because each passing year is a reminder that the mission has not been accomplished, Iraq is not a safer place, and neither the Taliban nor Al Qaeda have been destroyed.

* The President and his advisors try to distract the public with evocative images and declarations about success in Iraq and Afghanistan. But no amount of spin can disguise the harsh reality of the desperate situation on the ground.

* On that day 4 years ago, when the President declared an end of hostilities, there were 142,000 American soldiers in Iraq. Today there are 155,000. On May 1st, 2003, there had been 138 American casualties and 542 wounded in Iraq. Today the number of casualties is 3,351 and the number of wounded is 25,090.

* The Iraqi people have also paid a dear price during this war. Though exact numbers are difficult to find, the estimated number of Iraqi civilians killed by violence since May 2003 is between 53,000 and 63,000. One controversial study in 2004 estimated that as many as 655,000 have been killed. Today the President had an opportunity to change direction in Iraq and begin to bring the war to an end. He squandered that opportunity.

* The Congress sent the President a bill that would hold Iraqis accountable for taking the steps necessary to achieve political reconciliation and greater stability. The bill also provided additional funding to go after Osama bin Laden, the Taliban and Al Qaeda. By vetoing the bill, the President missed an opportunity to change direction in Iraq and finish the job in Afghanistan.

* The situation in Afghanistan remains grim. On this day 4 years ago, the President told the American people, ``In the Battle of Afghanistan, we destroyed Al Qaeda and the Taliban.'' In speech after speech, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and other senior U.S. officials claimed that Al Qaeda had been routed.

* But the reality is that 4 years after the U.S. invasion, the Taliban have regrouped and remains a serious threat. In fact, a new Jihadist sanctuary appears to be emerging on the Afghan-Pakistan border.

* By almost any metric, whether it is the number of Iraqi schools being built or the number of Afghan roads secured, it is clear that the mission in Iraq and Afghanistan is far from accomplished. But it is also clear that Americans no longer have the patience for impressive photo ops and overblown pronouncements about completed missions. The American public wants achievable goals and quantifiable results--not slogans.

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