Posted on 12/02/2004 3:08:16 PM PST by RWR8189
WASHINGTON - President Bush (news - web sites) is awarding the nation's highest civilian honor to three men central to his Iraq (news - web sites) policy, the White House announced Thursday.
Bush has chosen retired Gen. Tommy Franks, who oversaw combat in Afghanistan (news - web sites) and the initial invasion of Iraq, former CIA (news - web sites) Director George Tenet and former Iraq administrator L. Paul Bremer to receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom. The president will hand out the awards at a White House ceremony Dec. 14, press secretary Scott McClellan said.
Franks is a retired four-star Army general who commanded U.S. forces when Bush ordered the Iraq invasion in March 2003. He didn't decide until summer to endorse Bush's re-election, but then spoke on the president's behalf at the Republican National Convention and campaigned for Bush through the fall.
Tenet left the CIA in July after seven years as director. He was criticized for intelligence failures on his watch, including the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, and the never-proven prewar allegations that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction.
Bremer was the top U.S. official in postwar Iraq until he oversaw the transfer of power to an interim Iraqi government in June.
This fall, Bremer suggested the United States had paid a price in Iraq in the immediate aftermath of major combat operations because it did not have enough troops in place to stop the looting.
Those remarks gave Bush critics ammunition for their claims that the administration's postwar planning was inadequate.
Bremer tried to calm that controversy by saying he had constantly supported the president's strategy in Iraq.
The Medal of Freedom, established by President Truman in 1945 to recognize civilians for their efforts during World War II, was reinstated by President Kennedy in 1963 to honor distinguished service.
One each to:
1.) Micheal Moore
2.) Bruce Springsteen
3.) Barbra Steisand
Frank, great. Bremer, good... Tenet? Isn't he the one who said presided over 9/11, the 'slam dunk' WMD, etc.?
My thoughts exactly. Tenet should be given a "booby" prize instead.
Freedom medals. F#@$ YEAH!
When Tenet shows up for the medal, Bush should say "Despite being given slam dunk intelligence that the medal was here, we cannot find any medal of freedom" and send Tenet home.
Payback.
That would be too funny. :)
I still think he was right, and that the WMD were moved just before the war started. Of course, he could have been the victim of some intra-agency sabotage that wanted to make the President look bad, and used Tenet for the purpose.
That being said, I still think that there were WMD.
Bremer (and others) were responsible for dismantling the Iraqi army immediately after our victory. If those men had been kept and paid (even if many had nothing to do until vetted of Saddam ties), it may have kept the lid on insurgents and we wouldn't be trying so hard to stop them now.
Tenet and Bremer leave me cold. I don't trust them 100%. They did ok here and there, but they're not keepers.
I hope by getting the medals it will encourage them to keep their mouths shut in the future.
Leni
George Tenet??? Outrageous. An incompetant ass whose parting shot is to all but blame Condi Rice for 9/11? Will Bush give a medal to Ted Kennedy next year? I am so sick of the stupid "new tone".
.
911 Remembered: RICK RESCORLA was a Soldier
http://www.Freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/978534/posts
.
Good grief. Look at the contortions the writer takes.
I have been a Tenet supporter all along and I see I am in good company with President Bush.
I think I'm on the right side.
Believing media spin? Any freeper worth their salt should know better.
Frank, great. Bremer, good... Tenet? Isn't he the one who said presided over 9/11, the 'slam dunk' WMD, etc.?
=====
Bremer should get a box of dog biscuits. And, yes, he was in charge of the bad info that was fed to GWB. Bush could have made better choices...
I agree with you regardint the WMD---I have always thought they were moved to Syria and possibly some to Iran.
Having said that, and acknowledging that I am a huge Bush fan---
What the heck is he doing? I wonder if his FATHER picked out Tenet and Bremer. Papa George is the one that honored Ted Kennedy last year, and then Kennedy calls Bush another Saddam!! Now he is honoring Schwarzenegger, who hasn't exactly been the best of help to "W". That is the only excuse I can come up with that these two men would even be mentioned in the same sentence with the great Tommy Franks.
Tenet gets the Medal of Freedom for turning down the huge book contract from Viacom.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.