11/30/2005

President "Bush opened a series of five speeches on the war [in Iraq] on November 30 [2005] at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis [Maryland]. [National Security Council staffer Peter] Feaver helped draft a thirty-five page 'National Strategy for Victory in Iraq' mainly to prove that Bush had one. Feaver originally used the word 'success,' but the speechwriters insisted on changing it to 'victory.' 'Plan for Victory' signs were hung around the stage, and in his forty-three-minute speech Bush used the word 'victory' fifteen times. 'We will never back down,' he declared. 'We will never give in. And we will never accept less than complete victory.' Bush did resolve better than regret. He did not use the word 'mistakes' but admitted that 'we've faced some setbacks' and said 'we learned from our earlier experiences.' "

 – Peter Baker, Days of Fire, 432