Iraq on the edge

On May1,2003peaking from the deck of the aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln beneath a banner that read "Mission Accomplished," President Bush declares that the military phase of the battle to topple Saddam Hussein's government is "one victory in a war on terror that began on Sept. 11th, 2001, and still goes on." He argues that by vanquishing Mr. Hussein's government, he has removed "an ally of Al Qaeda," and he vows to continue to search for banned weapons in Iraq — a search that so far has been largely unsuccessful.