Five Years After 'Mission Accomplished'

"If only 'Mission Accomplished' had meant the emergence of democracy and stability in Iraq and the broader Middle East, instead of widespread unrest and the deaths of as many as 150,000 Iraqi civilians.

"If only it had meant the apprehension and capture of Osama bin Laden. . . .

"If only 'accomplished' had really meant accomplished."

The Portsmouth (N.H.) Herald editorial board writes: "Bush was signaling to the American people that there wasn't much to worry about, that all the prewar predictions by his administration were coming true.

"It was, of course, a fantasy and signaled one of the significant milestones of what history could very well judge as the greatest foreign policy catastrophe in our country's history."

The Fort Worth Star-Telegram editorial board writes: "Historians will fill volumes with the series of bad decisions, bad information and bad faith that resulted in more than 155,000 U.S. troops who today are serving in an Iraq war whose ever-changing mission is far from accomplished."

Middle East blogger Juan Cole notes some of the other flatly inaccurate things Bush said in that same speech -- including his declaration that the Taliban was destroyed, and that in Iraq the U.S. had "removed an ally of Al Qaida" -- and concludes: "The 'mission accomplished' banner was the least of it."

Meanwhile, in Iraq

Ernesto Londoño writes in The Washington Post: "Attacks on U.S. troops over the past two days killed six soldiers, the U.S. military said Wednesday, pushing the military's death toll in Iraq for April to 48, the highest for a single month since September."

Alexandra Zavis writes in the Los Angeles Times: "Civilian deaths reported by the Iraqi government also reached the highest levels in months as Baghdad experienced intense clashes triggered by an Iraqi government crackdown against Shiite Muslim militias. . . .

"The jump in deaths raises questions about whether U.S. and Iraqi forces can consolidate last year's security gains as most of the additional 28,500 American troops deployed to the country return home."

Iranian Drumbeat Watch

Where's the USS Abraham Lincoln today? It just arrived in the Persian Gulf. Which makes two aircraft carriers of the coast of Iran.

Robert Burns writes for the Associated Press: "CIA Director Michael Hayden said Wednesday that Iran's policy is to help kill Americans in Iraq. Hayden made the statement in response to a student question while speaking at Kansas State University.