November 28, 2003 - It was another "Mission Accomplished" and the troops did well. The military men and women assembled for Thanksgiving dinner at Baghdad International Airport fulfilled their assignment admirably. They were a great back-drop for the campaign footage of the President serving turkey dressed in an Army exercise jacket. As an exercise in political theatre it was a huge success - on a par with the "I have returned" shots of Douglas Macarthur wading ashore long after the beach was secure and the danger had pushed back miles from the scene. That comparison may be a bit unfair. Macarthur's Philippine beach was far safer that Baghdad 's air field. It took a measure of personal courage to sweep into an airport that had been the scene of a successful rocket attack putting Air Force One, its crew, the President's staff and the selected reporters at risk for the sake of a 2.5 hour after dark photo shoot.

There was a lot more risk in this operation than there was in the charter flight to the deck of the Abraham Lincoln. With the footage of the President strutting around in the flight suit appropriated by his political adversaries' ads and the footage of that damned woman going to Kabul sure to get a big play; something just had to be done. It is significant that of all the pool reporters only the Fox News guy was cleared to provide a heads-up his editor.

Just what was accomplished by this Presidential mission? Well, 600 or so members of the armed forces got a story to tell their grandchildren about the time the President of the United States served their Thanksgiving dinner.. Chalibai got a few minutes of precious face time with the President of the United States. The pool reporters got a big story and Hillary's visit to Afghanistan 's forgotten war got second billing.

Iraq is not one step closer to peaceful stabilization this morning. American troops are not one bit more secure. Iraq is not one step closer to democratic self government. The President did not get one step closer to arresting Saddam or Osama. The troops did not get one step closer to coming home. But the footage of the President serving turkey while in harm's way is in the can.

Mission accomplished!