Some claim that the controversial "Mission Accomplished" banner on the USS Abraham Lincoln last year was Carl Rove's idea. Not so, according to General Tommy Franks in his new book.

Franks: `Mission Accomplished' aimed to draw foreign involvement

BY DAVID TARRANT

The Dallas Morning News

DALLAS - (KRT) - After commanding the operation that toppled Saddam Hussein, Gen. Tommy Franks suggested that President Bush publicly mark an end to major combat in Iraq - an idea that led to the president's politically controversial appearance aboard an aircraft carrier.

Bush's announcement, under a banner that read "Mission Accomplished," took place just six weeks after the start of the war, generating harsh criticism as being a premature celebration and political grandstanding.

Franks, who retired a year ago, said he thought a public announcement would send a green light to countries that had balked at joining combat operations but had expressed willingness to join efforts to rebuild Iraq.

"That was not so everyone could have a victory lap," Franks said in a telephone interview Monday. "We'd been given to believe that once major hostilities were over, we would have lots and lots more help from the international community."

Franks spoke to newspaper reporters in a conference call to promote his book, "American Soldier." The 590-page book, published by Regan Books, goes on sale Tuesday.

Franks said the swift military victory in Iraq created false expectations that the rebuilding phase could be done quickly. Before fighting began, Franks said, he warned that a short war could cause problems if the United States wasn't prepared for the transition to postwar Iraq. But he refrained from second-guessing Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld or his own successor, Gen. John Abizaid.

Postwar planning was hampered by a lack of information about how Iraqis would respond, he said.

"I hoped that the Iraqis would immediately rise up and become part of the solution. We simply didn't know. For that reason, we didn't know how long our operations would take."

Franks said he now expects U.S. forces to remain in Iraq for up to five years.

He was much more specific in interviews last night.