On the fourth anniversary of the President’s now notorious “Mission Accomplished” speech, the scoffers and Bush-bashers ought to confront a few salient, inescapable points:

1)      The Commander-in-Chief never actually declared “Mission Accomplished” --- you can look over all the transcripts and tapes of May 1, 2003 and never see those words pronounce by President Bush. The “Mission Accomplished” banner that decorated the aircraft carrier originated with the crew of the USS Abraham Lincoln and reflected their celebratory mood – and their eager anticipation of heading home. What the President himself actually said was: “Major combat operations in Iraq have ended. In the battle of Iraq, the United States and our allies have prevailed.” Mainstream media love to replay this speech excerpt, but regularly leave out the very next sentence: “And now our coalition is engaged in securing and reconstructing that country.” Yes, it’s true that no members of the administration predicted that this process of “securing and reconstructing” Iraq would require more than four years, but Bush never promised a quick or painless resolution. “We have difficult work to do in Iraq. We’re bringing order to parts of the country that remain dangerous,” he reported. “The transition from dictatorship to democracy will take time, but it is worth every effort. Our coalition will stay until our work is done. And then we will leave, and we will leave behind a free Iraq.”

2)      The majority of the President’s speech spoke about the significance and difficulty of establishing democracy in Iraq, with only two brief mentions of weapons of mass destruction. Those who claim that he emphasized disarming Saddam as the chief purpose of the war ought to come to terms with his description of the struggle in its early stages four years ago. The two references to WMD’s came in the middle of the speech. “We’ve begun the search for hidden chemical and biological weapons and already know of hundreds of sites that will be investigated,” he announced. A few paragraphs later he added: “Our war against terror is proceeding according to principles that I have made clear to all…. Any outlaw regime that has ties to terrorist groups and seeks or possesses weapons of mass destruction is a grave danger to the civilized world – and will be confronted.” Do any sane or reasonable Americans doubt the continued need to ‘confront’ – if not invade -- such regimes?

3)      Nothing in his speech sounds embarrassing four years later, and reading the address in its entirety provides a significant reminder of the historical context of the war. At the end of his remarks, the President spoke movingly of the Americans who had already fallen in the battle to drive Saddam from power. “Every name, every life is a loss to our military, to our nation, and to the loved ones who grieve,” he said. “There’s no homecoming for these families. Yet we pray, in God’s time, their reunion will come.”

He then went on to pronounce words we should recall today to challenge the partisan hacks in the Democratic party with their shameful surrender timetable. The President said: “Those we lost were last seen on duty. Their final act on this Earth was to fight a great evil and to bring liberty to others.”

Can anyone honestly disagree with this summary of their service and sacrifice?

And if President Bush is right in describing the cause in which our soldiers fought and continue to fight, then how dare the defeatists insist on losing the war in order to gain domestic political advantage?

Far from apologizing on the anniversary of his address on the deck of the USS Abraham Lincoln, the President and his supporters should insist that skeptics and  critics take the time to hear and consider his entire speech.