What Bush almost said about Iraq

George W. Bush’s speech in May 2003 declaring major combat operations in Iraq over while a banner behind him proclaimed “mission accomplished” was, with the benefit of hindsight, unfortunate at best. (Even at the time it was clear that the fighter pilot-style entrance was a little excessive.)

But Bush’s words could have been so much worse. Apparently, his chief speechwriter had drafted the following for him:

“The sirens of Baghdad are quiet. The desert has returned to silence. The Battle of Iraq is over, and the United States and our allies have prevailed.”

One dreads to think how these words would have been hung round Bush, and every other Iraq supporter’s, neck if the president had actually delivered them. Indeed, the 2004 campaign might have been rather different if Bush had said this. For once, credit goes to Don Rumsfeld who vetoed the passage as being OTT.

This revelation comes in a wonderfully waspish piece by one former Bush speechwriter, Matt Scully, attacking another as a credit hog.