Changes

[[Image:Qwwqqe.jpg|thumb|right|An Iraqi Army unit prepares to board a Task Force Baghdad UH-60 Blackhawk [[helicopter]] for a counterinsurgency mission in Baghdad.]]

[[Image:Qwwqqe.jpg|thumb|right|An Iraqi Army unit prepares to board a Task Force Baghdad UH-60 Blackhawk [[helicopter]] for a counterinsurgency mission in Baghdad.]]

After the decapitation of the Ba'athist leadership from the military under its command in April 2003, President Bush said in his address:

After the Battle of Baghdad in early 2003, President Bush said:

*Major combat operations in Iraq have ended. <b>In the battle of Iraq, the United States and our allies have prevailed.</b> (Applause.) And now our coalition is engaged in securing and reconstructing that country. [http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2003/05/20030501-15.html]

*Admiral Kelly, Captain Card, officers and sailors of the USS Abraham Lincoln, my fellow Americans: Major combat operations in Iraq have ended. In the battle of Iraq, the United States and our allies have prevailed. (Applause.) And now our coalition is engaged in securing and reconstructing that country. [http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2003/05/20030501-15.html]

Other comments from President Bush's May 1, 2003 speech <ref> http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2003/05/20030501-15.html </ref> show that the context of these victory comments include warnings to Americans of an ongoing struggle to establish Iraqi democracy and counter the threat of terrorism. Quotes, "<b>We have difficult work to do in Iraq. We're bringing order to parts of that country that remain dangerous.</b> We're pursuing and finding leaders of the old regime, who will be held to account for their crimes. <b>We're helping to rebuild Iraq</b>, where the dictator built palaces for himself, instead of hospitals and schools. <b>And we will stand with the new leaders of Iraq as they establish a government of, by, and for the Iraqi people. The transition from dictatorship to democracy will take time, but it is worth every effort. Our coalition will stay until our work is done.</b> Then we will leave, and we will leave behind a free Iraq. <b>Our mission continues</b>. Al Qaeda is wounded, not destroyed. The scattered cells of the terrorist network still operate in many nations, and we know from daily intelligence that they continue to plot against free people. The [[proliferation]] of deadly weapons remains a serious danger. <b>The enemies of freedom are not idle, and neither are we.</b> Our government has taken unprecedented measures to defend the homeland. And we will continue to hunt down the enemy before he can strike. <b>The war on terror is not over; yet it is not endless.</b> We do not know the day of final victory, but we have seen the turning of the tide. No act of the terrorists will change our purpose, or weaken our resolve, or alter their fate. Their cause is lost. Free nations will press on to victory." <ref> http://newsbusters.org/node/12386 </ref>

Other comments from President Bush's May 1, 2003 speech <ref> http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2003/05/20030501-15.html </ref> show that the context of these victory comments include warnings to Americans of an ongoing struggle to establish Iraqi democracy and counter the threat of terrorism. Quotes, "<b>We have difficult work to do in Iraq. We're bringing order to parts of that country that remain dangerous.</b> We're pursuing and finding leaders of the old regime, who will be held to account for their crimes. <b>We're helping to rebuild Iraq</b>, where the dictator built palaces for himself, instead of hospitals and schools. <b>And we will stand with the new leaders of Iraq as they establish a government of, by, and for the Iraqi people. The transition from dictatorship to democracy will take time, but it is worth every effort. Our coalition will stay until our work is done.</b> Then we will leave, and we will leave behind a free Iraq. <b>Our mission continues</b>. Al Qaeda is wounded, not destroyed. The scattered cells of the terrorist network still operate in many nations, and we know from daily intelligence that they continue to plot against free people. The [[proliferation]] of deadly weapons remains a serious danger. <b>The enemies of freedom are not idle, and neither are we.</b> Our government has taken unprecedented measures to defend the homeland. And we will continue to hunt down the enemy before he can strike. <b>The war on terror is not over; yet it is not endless.</b> We do not know the day of final victory, but we have seen the turning of the tide. No act of the terrorists will change our purpose, or weaken our resolve, or alter their fate. Their cause is lost. Free nations will press on to victory." <ref> http://newsbusters.org/node/12386 </ref>