ABOARD THE USS ABRAHAM LINCOLN — Against a carefully arranged backdrop of fighter jets, cheering sailors and azure seas, President Bush savored the victory in Iraq, declaring Thursday that "the United States and our allies have prevailed."
"Operation Iraqi Freedom was carried out with a combination of precision, speed and boldness the enemy did not expect and the world had not seen before," Bush said. In a veiled warning to anyone else who might cross the United States, he added, "You have shown the world the skill and might of the American armed forces."
For The Record
Los Angeles Times Sunday May 04, 2003 Home Edition Main News Part A Page 2 National Desk 1 inches; 58 words Type of Material: Correction
Bush speech -- An article Friday in Section A about President Bush's visit to the aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln said it marked the first speech by a president aboard a moving aircraft carrier. In fact, at least one president preceded Bush: President Clinton gave a speech aboard the Theodore Roosevelt off the coast of Virginia in March 1993.
Bush took delight in the setting and the message he had come to deliver: that despite doubts at home and abroad, the war in Iraq had been quick, impressive and apparently decisive.
The speech -- the first by a president aboard a moving aircraft carrier -- described the campaign against Iraq as a "battle" that is but "one victory in a war on terror that began on Sept. 11, 2001, and still goes on."
"The liberation of Iraq is a crucial advance in the campaign against terror," said Bush, who flew to the carrier aboard a four-seater reconnaissance aircraft, taking the controls for part of the flight. "With [the 2001] attacks, the terrorists and their supporters declared war on the United States. And war is what they got."
He also gave perhaps his most optimistic assessment so far of that campaign: "The war on terror is not over, yet it is not endless. We do not know the day of final victory, but we have seen the turning of the tide."
Bush launched the Iraq war six weeks ago with an Oval Office address following a strike that targeted Saddam Hussein in Baghdad. The fate of the Iraqi leader remains uncertain.
Although Baghdad fell just three weeks later, the White House has avoided formally declaring an end to the war. One reason is that hostilities may yet flare from what U.S. officials describe as "pockets of resistance."
Another reason appears to be the president's decision to adopt wording that downgrades the Iraqi conflict from a war to a "battle" and that integrates it more fully than before with the war on terrorism.
Bush's visit to the carrier, which is headed toward San Diego, was the result of a week of meticulous planning by White House aides, eager to cement the president's image as a victorious commander in chief. Much of the stagecraft -- including a banner reading "Mission Accomplished" -- was reminiscent of a campaign appearance.
