May 2003

Bush flew to the carrier USS Abraham Lincoln in a small jet and declared that major operations in Iraq were over. After a dramatic tailhook landing on the carrier, Bush, dressed in a combat flight suit, gave his speech to a cheering crowd of sailors coming back from Iraq. Critics complain that Bush was using the troops and tax-payer money as his personnal toys for his re-election campain. The White House said Bush was using the jet because the ship was to far out to sea to be reached by helicopter. It later transpired that the carrier was not further than 30 miles offshore and that the ship had to be turned sothat the TV cameras wouldn't show the coast in the background.