John McCain Myth Buster: John McCain and Mission Accomplished

May 1, 2008 -- Five years ago today, President Bush declared that "major combat operations in Iraq have ended" under a banner claiming "Mission Accomplished." Just a few weeks later, McCain echoed the President's rosy rhetoric, proclaiming a "massive victory" in Iraq. [Speech by President Bush, 5/1/03; Congressional Record, 5/22/03]

"Mission accomplished" anniversary: Photo by pictoscribe (CC)

They fact is, they were wrong. We've now spent $500 billion dollars in Iraq and lost over 4,000 brave men and women in uniform, yet McCain and Bush still lack a plan for how to bring the war to a close. And now McCain claims our troops could be in Iraq for 100 years, even though the American people want to start bringing our troops home.

Here's some straight talk. Voters will reject John McCain because they don't want a third Bush term of disastrous leadership on Iraq.

May 1, 2003: Bush Declares War Over. "Major combat operations in Iraq have ended." [Speech by President Bush, 5/1/03]

McCain Proclaimed "Massive Victory" in Iraq and Credited Combat-Readiness for "Our Victory" in Afghanistan and Iraq. "Operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom demonstrated to the world what we saw just 12 years ago. We went to war as the most combat-ready force in the world. The value of that readiness is clear. We won a massive victory in a few weeks, and we did so with very limited loss of American and allied lives. We were able to end aggression with minimum overall loss of life, and we were even able to greatly reduce the civilian casualties of Afghani and Iraqi citizens. . . . Our technology edge in Afghanistan and Iraq would have been meaningless if we did not have men and women trained to use it. Having the best weapons system platforms in the world would not have given us our victory if we had not had the right command and control facilities, maintenance capabilities, and munitions." [Congressional Record, 5/22/03]

White House Advocated Long Term Troops Presence in Iraq Like South Korean Model. "President Bush envisions a long-term U.S. troop presence in Iraq similar to the one in South Korea where American forces have helped keep an uneasy peace for more than 50 years, the White House said Wednesday." [Associated Press, 5/31/07]

2008: McCain Said US May Stay In Iraq For 100 Years. At a New Hampshire town hall when McCain was asked "President Bush has talked about our staying in Iraq for 50 years." McCain responded: "Maybe 100." [McCain Town Hall, Derry NH Opera House 1/3/2008]

Cost Of Iraq War Exceeds $500 Billion So Far. "The United States has poured more than $500 billion into Iraq, mostly for military operations. But that figure is just a small piece of the much larger bill that taxpayers will pay in the future. Because the money for the war is being borrowed, interest payments could add another $615 billion. A heavily depleted military will have to be rebuilt at a cost of $280 billion. Disability benefits and health care for Iraq war veterans, many of them severely injured, could add another half-trillion dollars over their lifetime." [San Francisco Chronicle, 3/18/2008]

Over 4,000 American Military Personnel Have Died in The Conflict. As of April 24, 4,046 American soldiers, Marines, airmen, sailors and Coast Guardsmen have died in the Iraq War. [http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/2003/iraq/forces/casualties/]

Source: DNC

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