Other recipients of the Medal of Freedom:
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Edward Teller, Father of the Hydrogen Bomb
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Doris Day, Hollywood and Broadway Star
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Arnold Palmer, golf pro
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Other recipients of the Medal of Freedom:
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Trumpeting America as liberator, the White House conferred the highest civilian honor yesterday on three men intimately involved with the decision to invade Iraq or the troubled aftermath of the invasion.
President Bush awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom to Tommy Franks, the now-retired Army general who led the invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq; former CIA director George Tenet, who told Bush it was a "slam dunk" that Iraq still had weapons of mass destruction; and L. Paul Bremer, who presided over the first 14 months of Iraq reconstruction.
Past recipients have included Mother Teresa, Mr. Rogers, Rosa Parks and Pope John Paul II.
In the East Room of the White House, Bush said he had chosen the trio because they "played pivotal roles in great events" and made efforts that "made our country more secure and advanced the cause of human liberty." Before an invited audience of 120, which included Vice President Cheney, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, Secretary of State Colin Powell and his nominated replacement, Condoleezza Rice, Bush hung the heavy gold medals, on royal-blue velvet ribbons, around the men's necks. Franks and Tenet grinned broadly. Bremer later wiped his eyes.
Some Democrats questioned the choice. [Mindfully.org note: . . .some? Where did they come from? Isn't the Democratic Party officially dead?]
"My hunch is that George Bush wasn't using the same standard when honoring Tenet and Bremer that was applied to previous honorees," said David Wade, a spokesman for Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.), who lost last month's presidential election to Bush. And Sen. Carl Levin (D-Mich.), the ranking member on the Armed Services Committee, said yesterday he "would have reached a different conclusion" on Tenet. "I don't think [he] served the president or the nation well," Levin said.
The president heralded Tenet for being "one of the first to recognize" the growing threat to America from "radical terrorist networks." He made no mention of the failures outlined by the 9/11 commission that forced the administration to overhaul the nation's intelligence operations.
He praised Franks for his Iraq war plan, which utilized "a force half the size of the force that won the Gulf War" to reach Baghdad in less than a month, "the fastest, longest armored advance in the history of American warfare." Bush did not note that more Americans have died after the toppling of Saddam Hussein than during that initial charge.
Bremer, Bush said, "worked day and night in difficult dangerous conditions" to rebuild Iraq and help leaders chart the country's political future. "Every benchmark . . . was achieved on time or ahead of schedule, including the transfer of sovereignty that ended his tenure," the president said. He did not add that the transfer was hurriedly arranged two days early because of fears insurgents would attack the ceremonies.
The Medal of Freedom was established by President Harry Truman in 1945 as a way to honor allies who had helped the war effort, and most initial recipients were not American citizens, said Jim Salmon, who tracks the medal's history for a Web site. In 1963, President John Kennedy, by executive order, restricted the award so that it could be given only by the president. Since that time, presidents have used the medal to honor a wide variety of individuals in sports, arts, letters, charity and social justice.
Yesterday's medals, said Salmon, "are a unique situation. This is not the norm, for there to be three people in the same genre, with the same basic events," honored so quickly after their service or after pointed questioning by congressional leaders, as all three men were in the past two years.
Reporters peppered White House press secretary Scott McClellan yesterday in two sessions over the timing of the medals and whether the ceremony indicated that the president had forgiven Tenet, who resigned in June after seven years leading the agency, for intelligence failures dealing with 9/11 and Iraq.
"They have made many incredibly positive contributions to our nation," McClellan said. The recipients "have worked to liberate some 50 million people in Afghanistan and Iraq from oppression and tyranny. And they have worked to help transform a very dangerous region in the world that has been a breeding ground for terrorism, a breeding ground from where people hijack planes and flew them into buildings."
Paul Rieckhoff, a former Army lieutenant who served in Iraq and now runs an organization of veterans against the war, said the awards are "a slap in the face to the troops" from "an administration that loves the big PR move. . . . It validates how out of touch Washington is with the reality of what is on the ground in Iraq."
And Brookings Institution fellow Michael O'Hanlon, who monitors Iraq, suggested that if the president wanted to honor service in Iraq, he could have selected other people to honor. "I wouldn't expect him to show any wavering" over the decision to go to war, O'Hanlon said of the president, "but I'm troubled by the use of this award in a different way. He could have called attention to the bravery in Iraq, without having to make it about the most controversial figures in the whole operation."
In Iraq yesterday, U.S. military officials announced combat deaths of two Marines, bringing the toll to 10 Marines in three days. A suicide bomber blew up seven people and wounded at least 13 at a Green Zone checkpoint in Baghdad. Military brass announced that the U.S. military would have a record high of 150,000 troops on the ground in the nation through the Jan. 30 election and "a little bit after." In Mosul, gunmen killed a provincial council member, and soldiers discovered eight more bodies of Iraqis, bringing to more than 150 the number of likely victims of insurgents targeting Iraqi police and security forces in that city in the past six weeks.
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source: http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A63623-2004Dec14?language=printer 14dec04
President George Bush has bestowed the highest US civilian honour on three former top officials, sidestepping their ties to controversies over the Iraq war and its aftermath.
In a televised ceremony at the White House on Tuesday, Bush awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom to former CIA director George Tenet, retired general Tommy Franks and the erstwhile Iraq occupation administrator Paul Bremer.
The awards are controversial because all three figures are linked to an Iraq policy that has been highly unpopular around the world.
"This honour goes to three men who have played pivotal roles in great events and whose efforts have made our country more secure and advanced the cause of human liberty," the president said.
Bremer "will be remembered for his superb work in laying the foundations of a new democracy in the Middle East", said Bush, telling the diplomat: "Iraq is free today, and you helped make it so."
Anti-US violence
The president lauded Bremer for his service as the US occupation administrator of Iraq even though he presided over a 14-month post-war period fraught with anti-US violence.
Bremer has been heavily criticised for dissolving Iraq's army, which many feel fuelled the anti-US violence that has intensified in recent weeks as the country approaches elections scheduled for 30 January.
More than 90% of the 1296 US war dead in Iraq were killed after Bush declared major combat operations at an end on 1 May 2003 .
As recently as Monday, Iraqi interim President Ghazi al-Yawir slammed what he called Bremer's big mistake, the abolishment of Iraq's defence ministry when he led the US-led occupying authority.
Merely ridding the military of Saddam Hussein loyalists "could have saved us a lot of hassle and a lot of problems" in dealing with deadly chaos that threatens elections scheduled for January, al-Yawir told BBC radio.
Intelligence failures
In his tribute to Tenet, Bush did not mention the intelligence failures leading to the 11 September 2001 attacks, or Tenet's reported remark that the weapons of mass destruction case against Iraq was a "slam dunk" - even though such arms have not been found.
Tenet, who was appointed CIA director by former President Bill Clinton, resigned for personal reasons in July.
However, Bush concentrated on Tenet's efforts to rebuild the CIA and called him "one of the first to recognise and address the growing threat to America from radical terrorist networks".
"More than three-quarters of al-Qaida key members and associates had been killed or detained and the majority were stopped as a result of CIA efforts," he said.
And in his tribute to Franks, Bush hailed the retired general's command of US forces in the wars to oust the Taliban from power in Afghanistan and topple Saddam in Iraq.
Iraq war criticisms
"One of the highest distinctions of history is to be called a liberator and Tommy Franks will always carry that title," said the president.
But the small size of the US-led invasion force in Iraq has been widely blamed for failing to secure the country once Baghdad fell - a point Bremer himself made in October, touching off an outcry over US strategy.
Defeated Democratic White House hopeful John Kerry also accused Franks of over-relying on Afghan troops in the siege of the Tora Bora cave complex in 2001, allowing al-Qaida chief Usama bin Ladin to escape.
"My hunch is that George Bush was not using the same standard when honouring Tenet and Bremer that was applied to previous honorees," said David Wade, a spokesman for the former Democratic presidential nominee.
Past recipients of the award have ranged from former President Jimmy Carter to civil rights heroine Rosa Parks and US sports professionals, entertainers and academics.
source: http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/496C4FBD-183B-4DCE-899D-2C9373CE1599.htm 15dec04
New York — THREE of the more controversial figures behind the war in Iraq were yesterday given America's highest civilian honour by President George W. Bush.
Saying they had "played pivotal roles in great events", Mr Bush awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom to retired general Tommy Franks, former CIA boss George Tenet, and former US civilian administrator in Iraq, Paul Bremer. The action was seen as defiance at the mounting criticism and concern over the chaotic situation in Iraq that has cost America more than 1300 lives.
General Franks, who campaigned for Mr Bush's re-election, commanded the invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq, but quit soon after Baghdad fell.
He has been criticised for letting Osama bin Laden escape from Tora Bora and for bad planning in Iraq by not seeking enough troops to keep the peace after the initial invasion.
Mr Tenet, who quit in July, backed much of the bogus intelligence used to justify the war and infamously reassured Mr Bush before the war began that finding weapons of mass destruction would be "a slam dunk".
Although suspicious a conspiracy was under way, Mr Tenet was also burned for intelligence failures before the September 11, 2001 attacks.
Mr Bremer left Iraq in June after the transition of partial authority to the interim government. He has been panned for dissolving the Iraqi Army, a move that helped fuel the insurgency.
After he came home, he said Iraq had deteriorated because there were too few US troops to maintain order.
source: http://www.heraldsun.news.com.au/printpage/0,5481,11702279,00.html 15dec04
WASHINGTON—George W. Bush yesterday bestowed the highest US civilian honour on three officials who were central to the war in Iraq, sidestepping their ties to controversies over the conflict and its aftermath.
In a televised ceremony at the White House, Mr Bush awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom to former CIA director George Tenet, retired general Tommy Franks, and Paul Bremer, who ran Iraq on behalf of Washington following the March 2003 invasion. "This honour goes to three men who have played pivotal roles in great events and whose efforts have made our country more secure and advanced the cause of human liberty," the US President said. Mr Bush avoided mention of Mr Tenet's oversight of intelligence failures at the CIA, charges that General Franks should have used more troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, and Mr Bremer's widely condemned decision to disband the Iraqi military.
Mr Bremer "will be remembered for his superb work in laying the foundations of a new democracy in the Middle East", Mr Bush said. "Iraq is free today, and you helped make it so," he told him before presenting the medal. On Monday, Iraq's interim President Ghazi al-Yawer slammed Mr Bremer's "big mistake" of abolishing Iraq's defence ministry.
Merely ridding the military of Saddam Hussein loyalists "could have saved us a lot of problems" in dealing with the insurgency that threatens elections scheduled for January 30, Mr Yawer said.
In his tribute to Mr Tenet, Mr Bush did not mention the intelligence failures leading to the September 11, 2001, attacks on the US or the CIA chief's now hollow boast that the weapons of mass destruction case against Iraq was a "slam dunk". "George Tenet was one of the first to recognise and address the growing threat to America from radical terrorist networks," Mr Bush said. "More than three-quarters of
al-Qa'ida key members and associates had been killed or detained and the majority were stopped as a result of CIA efforts."
Turning to General Franks, Mr Bush hailed his command of US forces in the wars to oust the Taliban in Afghanistan and topple Saddam in Iraq. "One of the highest distinctions of history is to be called a liberator and Tommy Franks will always carry that title," he said.
But the small size of the US-led invasion force in Iraq has been widely blamed for failing to secure the country once Baghdad fell.
source: http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/printpage/0,5942,11704159,00.html 15dec04
President George Bush has bestowed America's highest civilian honour on three leading figures of the Iraq war, including the former spymaster who presided over the CIA's disastrous intelligence on weapons of mass destruction.
The former CIA director George Tenet, the retired army general Tommy Franks, and the former Coalition Provisional Authority chief Paul Bremer stood with Mr Bush in the White House to receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom on Tuesday.
"These three men symbolise the nobility of public service, the good character of our country, and the good influence of America on the world," Mr Bush said.
The White House promptly came under fire from Mr Bush's opponent in the recent presidential election. "My hunch is that George Bush wasn't using the same standard when honouring Tenet and Bremer that was applied to previous honorees," said a spokesman for Senator John Kerry.
Past recipients have included the former president Jimmy Carter, the civil rights heroine Rosa Parks, and sports professionals, entertainers and academics.
Mr Tenet, who was appointed CIA director by the former president, Bill Clinton, resigned for personal reasons in July after spectacular intelligence failures involving Iraq and the September 11 attacks.
In his book Plan of Attack, the journalist Bob Woodward said Mr Tenet told Mr Bush before the March 2003 invasion of Iraq that finding weapons of mass destruction would be a "slam dunk". No such weapons, the main justification for the war, have not been found.
Mr Bush praised Mr Bremer for his service as the US administrator of Iraq who presided over a 14-month occupation fraught with violence from resistance fighters.
Mr Bremer has been criticised for dissolving Iraq's army, which many feel created the resistance that has intensified in recent weeks as the country approaches elections scheduled for January 30.
General Franks, who led US forces in Afghanistan and Iraq, has faced criticism for a US-led assault on Tora Bora that Democrats say allowed the al-Qaeda leader, Osama bin Laden, to escape capture.
source: http://www.smh.com.au/news/After-Saddam/Bush-honours-three-who-failed/2004/12/15/1102787150145.html?oneclick=true# 15dec04
WASHINGTON -- The East Room is the largest in the White House, and it serves as a stage for some of the mansion's most scripted events: diplomatic receptions, state funerals, prime-time news conferences.
Yesterday, it provided a platform for another kind of drama; a latter-day version of "A Christmas Carol," freely adapted from 19th-century London to 21st-century Washington.
On stage were three ghosts of the Bush administration's past: former CIA Director George Tenet, retired Army General Tommy Franks and Jerry Bremer, head of the now-disbanded Coalition Provisional Authority that ran Iraq after the U.S. invasion.
The metal dangling from their necks wasn't chains, as in the original Dickens story, but a newly minted Medal of Freedom presented to each by President George W. Bush for their service to him and the nation.
And the audience was full of other embodiments of Bush's Washington - past, present and future.
The past was represented by Colin Powell, the outgoing secretary of state, who fought and lost so many foreign policy battles with his neocon adversaries during the past four years.
The present was there in the person of Powell's great antagonist, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, who is holding on to his job for the moment in the administration's mid-course shakeout.
As for the future, there was Condi Rice, currently Bush's national security adviser, who is about to replace Powell at the top of the State Department heap.
As symbols of the quality Bush prizes most, Rumsfeld and Rice will do nicely. Both compiled records during Bush's first term that were long on loyalty but, according to their many critics, rather less conspicuous on achievement.
Rice, according to many foreign policy experts, never mastered the national security adviser's most basic task, which is to ride herd on the often fractious members of the national security apparatus.
Rumsfeld has taken heat from human rights advocates over the Iraqi prisoner abuses and from critics such as Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), who said Monday he had no confidence in the Pentagon boss because of his refusal to send enough troops to Iraq.
Then there were the awardees up on stage: Franks, who won his wars in Kabul and Baghdad and then was lucky or smart enough to retire before Iraq went sour; Bremer, who smartly saluted his superiors in Washington throughout his 14-month tenure and only later let it slip that he'd thought they were all wet about how many troops were needed; and Tenet, who assured Bush that proving Iraq had weapons of mass destruction would be a "slam dunk."
Apparently, none of these apparitions of old embarrassments made the guest list, and Bush wasn't in a mood to revisit them. He told some folksy stories about Tenet's busboy beginnings in his family's diner in Little Neck, Franks' West Texas roots and Bremer's penchant for desert boots.
Then he moved quickly into full-praise mode, calling the honorees "three men who have played pivotal roles in great events," hung the hardware around their necks and called it a ceremony.
It was left to White House spokesman Scott McClellan to field questions from slightly incredulous reporters about why someone like Tenet - he has taken incoming flak over his leadership of the CIA from the 9/11 Commission, a Senate select committee and a host of independent experts - was getting the nation's highest civilian honor.
"Today is a day to pay tribute to these individuals," McClellan repeated relentlessly each time the question was asked. "And we're going to stay focused on honoring these individuals on this day. That's where our focus will be."
In the Dickens tale, the specters of Ebenezer Scrooge's life crowd around him and persuade him to change his ways. In real life, especially in Washington, the ghosts rarely win the argument.
source: http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/nation/ny-uspost154084355dec15,0,4776213.story?coll=ny-nationalnews-headlines 15dec04
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