September 24, 2004 - It was on May 1, 2003 that the President of The United States flew to the deck of the Abraham Lincoln to theatrically declare “Mission Accomplished” in Iraq and an end to what he called major combat operations. On September 8, 2004 the President of the United States vowed to “Complete the Mission” to honor the more than 1000 Americans who had given their lives in Iraq. Yesterday both the President of the United States and the US designated Interim Prime Minister of Iraq renewed the pledge to complete the mission. Is this the same mission that was accomplished 17 months ago? If it is not what mission is it that we are to complete?

First the mission was to disarm Saddam Hussein; to eliminate his access to stores of weapons of mass destruction that he might use against his neighbors or, in a worst case scenario, against the United States. It turns out that mission had been accomplished long before the first decapitation attack was launched on March 19, 2003.

Then the mission was to effect regime change in Baghdad and the statues of Saddam Hussein were dragged down. The dictator no longer dwelled in his palaces while the rubble was being combed for traces of his DNA even as the countryside was being combed for traces of his WMD. With and American Viceroy installed in Baghdad that mission had been accomplished.

Throughout the 18 months since the President of the United States led us from the manhunt in Afghanistan to engage in the pre-emptive war in Iraq he has yet to tell us just what the mission is that he calls on America to complete. He keeps telling us that we are making good progress in Iraq. What progress are we making in Fallujah; in Ramadi; in Najaf; or in Sadr City? What is the mission and how will we know that it has been completed?

Those are the questions that need to be answered, not whether John F. Kerry bled enough to earn his purple hearts or whether George W. Bush flew enough in Houston to earn his honorable discharge. If it is our mission to defeat the growing insurgency in Iraq then we should be about that work. If it is our mission to create the conditions that will permit the Iraqi people to meaningfully participate in determining their own future then we should be about that work. Every day that we continue the policy that Washington dictated at the gates of Fallujah last April means one day more that the insurgents are able to strengthen and extend their hold. Every day of delay means that the cost in lives and treasure will be that much higher when the order finally comes after the election.

Leadership means mush more than vague slogans, empty assurances and lofty appeals to courage. Leadership requires clear messages; reliance on facts and not conjecture; and appeals to reality not sugarcoated hopes. Those are the lessons we thought we learned while John Kerry was bleeding in Vietnam and George Bush was flying in Houston. Mr. President, what is the mission?