The "Mission Accomplished" banner, held up when President Bush staged his carrier-landing stunt on the USS Abraham Lincoln one year ago today, obviously was premature.

It made for dramatic TV, but the truth is the mission is not yet accomplished and it isn't likely to be accomplished soon. This doesn't mean the mission is not worthy, but we must accept the facts that victory won't come quickly and it won't come without cost.

On May 1, 2003, the flight-suit-wearing president landed on the aircraft carrier in the Pacific, stood before Navy personnel and all but declared the war's end. Since then, more than 700 Americans have died in Iraq, including more than 10 soldiers Thursday alone. Facing a June 30 deadline to hand Iraq's governance back to the Iraqis, our forces find themselves facing increased violence and in the midst of centuries-old ethnic and religious disputes.

Allied forces are coming under fire every day, as insurgents seem to be getting better organized and executing more lethal attacks, using rocket-propelled grenades and suicide bombers. The New York Times this week reported that former members of Saddam Hussein's elite Republican Guard, who faded into the general population at the onset of the war, are behind the attacks. They are well-trained and, apparently, organized. Their goal not only is to prolong the war, but to continue to perpetuate fear, even though Saddam has been captured.

At home, public opinion polls show America's support for war is waning. About half of Americans say the United States was right to take military action in Iraq, when in December 63 percent of them thought so, according to a recent poll by the New York Times and CBS News.

Mission accomplished? Hardly.

But there has been progress. For the first time Saddam's 30-year reign of terror, the people of Iraq can look forward to the possibility of freedom. The Bush administration, though it has made some missteps, not providing enough armored fighting vehicles, rightly remains committed to finishing the work in Iraq.

This should include enlisting the diplomatic help of the United Nations as democracy emerges. Another good sign is that Marines are pulling out of Fallujah, leaving Iraqi security forces in charge. Success will be measured by how well Iraqis do to restore order in their country.

It's hard to know when the mission truly will be accomplished in Iraq, but a CNN/USA Today/Gallup Poll this week that focused on the future of Iraq showed that 63 percent of Iraqis believe their country will be better off in five years, and 61 percent said Saddam's ouster was worth problems associated with the military action.

That kind of hope eventually will shine through the fog of war.