Bush marks anniversary of 'end of combat' speech
Iraq 'is a world from the cruelty and corruption of Saddam's regime'
President Bush Saturday marked the one-year anniversary of his rousing speech that declared an end to major combat in Iraq, saying that life is better for Iraqis "despite serious and continuing challenges."
The declaration, issued May 1, 2003, was a bellwether event in the war.
Bush landed aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln in the co-pilot's seat of a Navy S-3B Viking after making two flybys of the carrier.
Speaking from the flight deck of the ship, with a banner that declared "Mission Accomplished" as a backdrop, he made the nationally televised address during what were the heady days of the war for the United States, which launched its attack on the Saddam Hussein regime in late March 2003.
"The coalition forces conducted one of the swiftest, most successful and humane campaigns in military history," Bush said in his weekly Saturday radio address.
Twelve months later, "life for the Iraqi people is a world away from the cruelty and corruption of Saddam's regime."
"At the most basic level of justice, people are no longer disappearing into political prisons, torture chambers, and mass graves -- because the former dictator is in prison, himself."
He cited improvements in infrastructure, the society and the economy.
"Electricity is now more widely available than before the war. Iraq has a stable currency and banks are thriving. Schools and clinics have been renovated and reopened, and power plants, hospitals, water and sanitation facilities, and bridges are being rehabilitated.
"Iraq's oil infrastructure is being rebuilt, with the Iraqi oil industry already producing about 2.5 million barrels per day.
But he conceded the "serious and continuing challenges" from illegal militias and remnants of the regime, joined by foreign terrorists," -- all of which are symbols of the protracted, bloody insurgency bedeviling the coalition.
Bush contends that "these groups have found little support among the Iraqi people."
The number of U.S. troops killed in Iraq since the war began rose to 741 -- 537 in combat and 204 in non-hostile incidents. Of those, 602 were killed after Bush declared an end to major combat.
The president pointed to the move toward Iraqi sovereignty and dogged military and political efforts in the two hot spots of Fallujah in the Sunni Triangle and Najaf in the Shiite south as two examples of a "clear strategy in Iraq."
"Our coalition supports the efforts of local Iraqis to negotiate the disarmament of the radicals in Fallujah.
"We've also made it clear that militias in Najaf and elsewhere must disarm or face grave consequences. American and coalition forces are in place, and we are prepared to enforce order in Iraq."
Bush said the return of sovereignty to Iraqis on June 30 is a prime goal, but warned that "we are likely to see more violence from groups opposed to freedom" as the milestone approaches.
"We will not be intimidated or diverted. On July 1st, and beyond, our reconstruction and military commitment will continue."
Bush praised U.S. troops and told their families the service members have fallen must know that their loss is not in vain."
"The success of Iraqi democracy would send forth the news, from Damascus to Tehran, that freedom can be the future of every nation."/
