Aw, it seems like only yesterday (err May 1, 2003) that the mission was accomplished.

But alas, the war goes on.

LA Daily News' Tony Castro is cheery about the milestone:

Aided by a "surge" strategy last year that has reduced the number of troop fatalities, surveys today show that Americans not only believe that the war effort is going better but also feel better about it.

That's how we feel about adult acne.

LAT's Tina Susman in her Column One, "High-tech and high anxiety in Iraq", writes:

And after five years of war, bombings, kidnappings and slayings, Iraqis still do not feel they can move about freely.

The LAT also has a list of articles and editorials about the Iraq War (we assume the DN put theirs down the memory hole).

Salon.com has a story "Five Years of Iraq Lies: How President Bush and his advisors have spent each year of the war peddling mendacious tales about a mission accomplished."

And E&P has a story that five years ago nearly a third of all newspapers were opposed to the invasion:

The Orange County Register of Santa Ana, Calif., declared it was "unpersuaded" that the threat posed by the "vile" Hussein justified military action now. The San Jose (Calif.) Mercury News wrote, "War might have been avoided, had the administration been sincere about averting it."

And finally:

"So the United States apparently will go to war with few allies and in the face of great international opposition," the L.A. Times said. "This is an uncharted path ... to an uncertain destination. We desperately hope to be wrong in our trepidation about the consequences here and abroad."

Shudder.