On the 1st of May 2003, President George W. Bush delivered a speech aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln off San Diego, California, declaring the end of major combat operations in Iraq. Standing before a banner reading "Mission Accomplished," he praised U.S. troops for toppling Saddam Hussein's regime in six weeks. Bush, who landed on the carrier in a S-3B Viking jet, emphasized America's role in liberating Iraq from tyranny. The event marked a high point in public support for the invasion launched on