Soldiers understand the "Mission Accomplished" sign on a ship. Each unit in the military has a mission to perform. Your mission could be flying grunts to the battlezone or it could be paying troops at base/post X or digging a latrine. The soldiers I work with every day have a mission every day and they accomplish that mission. A war is not a mission, a battle is not a mission. Individuals or units would have a mission in that battle or war.
This ship's crew had a mission, it's mission was accomplished otherwise it would not have returned. Military folks understand the mission. Accomplishing your mission successfully during time of war is a very big deal.
Hope this helps you understand what the "MISSION" is in the military.
Edward Teach: Hope this helps you understand what the "MISSION" is in the military.
You don't think it was a coincidence or a happy accident that Bush appeared in front of a "Mission Accomplished" declaring the end of major combat in Iraq, do you??
It was supposed to be an iconic war image, although ironically that's what it has become, just not the way the Bush team envisaged it.
No GW intended to be in front of the banner mainly to show respect for the ship and it's crew and have a nice backdrop for the speech he was making. Yes the ship's mission was accomplished and he went to pay respect to those who accomplished their mission. Of course the media not understanding the military read into the banner. The banner was more for the boats home port not for the general public. If the Pres' never showed up the banner would have still been there.
Bush dressed up as a pilot, made an historic jet landing aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln, then made a speech declaring "major combat operations in Iraq have ended" standing in front of a 50ft sign which stated "mission accomplished" and you think this was to show respect to the ship's crew?
You're either being disingenuous or naive about how politicians and spin doctors work and try to stage manage events to their advantage.
05-10-2007 11:35 PM
