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Charms - of course Bush declared victory for the sake of scoring cheap political points. In that speech, he never said "Mission Accomplished." That was the sign, prepared by the White House, that he stood in front of.
What he did do is declare that "major combat has ended," which has clearly been shown to be false. If major combat is only defined as U.S. military action vs. Saddam's regulars, then yes, that is true. That will come as little solace to the 800 or whatever it is soldiers who have died since then. You know, after the major combat ended.
He also told terrorists in that speech to "bring it on." Now, I don't know about you, but that sounds EXACTLY like a cheap political point. Furthermore, whether spurred on by his arrogant and inappropriate comment or not, they have brought it on, and it has been nothing short of disastrous.
If victory is defined by toppling Saddam's regime, you are correct. If victory is defined by full, free elections, peace, rebuilding, actually controlling all the major cities, or even the reduction of deaths both military and civilian, then it is absolutely correct to suggest that Bush was busy scoring political points while ignoring what was actually happening.
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