Bush Awards Peter Pace Presidential Medal Of Freedom, Makes No Mention Of Iraq War
Bush Awards Peter Pace Presidential Medal Of Freedom, Makes No Mention Of Iraq War
Today, President Bush held a White House ceremony for the recipients of the Presidential Medal of Freedom. The honor is the nation’s highest civil award, awarded to individuals who have contributed to: 1) the security or national interests of the United States, 2) world peace, or 3) cultural or other significant public or private endeavors.
One of the recipients was former Rumsfeld yes-man ret. Gen. Peter Pace, who served as Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman between 2005 and 2007. From Bush’s tribute to Pace:
As Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Pete Pace was a skilled and trusted adviser in a time of war. He helped transform our military into a more efficient and effective force in America’s defense. […]
Gen. Pace ended his military career the same way that he began. With love for his country and devotion to his fellow Marines.
Not once during his statement did Bush mention the Iraq war. Watch it:
Pace, in fact, left his position under controversy and disgrace. Defense Secretary Robert Gates effectively forced Pace into retirement last year because the administration wanted to avoid “contentious” Senate hearings over the Iraq war. He was the shortest-serving Joint Chiefs chairman since Gen. Maxwell D. Taylor in 1964, who stepped down during the early years of the Vietnam War.
While serving as Joint Chiefs chairman, Pace consistently defended the Bush administration’s failed policies, claiming that Rumsfeld “leads in a way that the good Lord tells him is best for our country.” In 2007, he defended the military’s ban on gays serving openly in the military, stating, “I believe that homosexual acts between individuals are immoral.”
As a Medal of Freedom recipient, Pace joins some all-star Iraq war players, including George Tenet, Paul Bremer, and Gen. Tommy Franks.
Transcript:
BUSH: One of my great privileges as president is to meet so many outstanding Americans who volunteer to serve in uniform. I have been inspired by valour, selflessness, and complete integrity. We found all these qualities in abundance in Gen. Pete Pace.
As Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Pete Pace was a skilled and trusted adviser in a time of war. He helped transform our military into a more efficient and effective force in America’s defense. Gen. Pace experienced the blessing America offers at an early age. He was born in Brooklyn to an Italian immigrant father who sometimes worked two or three jobs at a time to make ends meet. He was raised by a mom who instilled in him the sustaining power of faith.
Together his parents raised four children. Each went on to great achievements in their chosen fields. At childhood, gave an early glimpse of what he would call “the incredible benefits that our nation bestows on those who come to our shores.” Pete Pace attended the Naval Academy and as a young Marine, soon found his way to Vietnam. At the age of 22, he took command of a platoon engaged in heavy fighting against the enemy during the Tet Offensive. He quickly won respect and the trust of his unit and formed a bond for all those who served with him. That bond only strengthened throughout his military career.
He was the first Marine to serve as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and he performed duties with a keen intellect and sharp wit and a passionate devotion to our country. He won the admiration of all who knew him and that includes a soldier in Afghanistan who came up to Gen. Pace last year during his farewell visit to that country and who said simply, “Thanks for your service. We will take it from here.” On his final day in uniform, Gen. Pace took a quiet journey to the Vietnam Veteran’s Memorial.
He searched the names engraved in the sleek granite and then found a spot where he placed his four stars that adorned his uniform. Along with those stars, he attached notes addressed to the men who died under his first command some four decades ago. The note said, “These are yours, not mine. With love and respect, your platoon leader, Pete Pace.”
Gen. Pace ended his military career the same way that he began. With love for his country and devotion to his fellow Marines. For his selfless service to his country and for always putting the interests of men and women in uniform first, I am proud to award the Presidential Medal of Freedom to Gen. Pete Pace.
Another recipient was Laurence H. Silberman. I guess that was a reward for the fine whitewashing job he did when he headed the WMD Study Commission. If you recall, the Commission concluded that: ‘the Intelligence Community was “dead wrong” in almost all of its pre-war judgments about Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction and that this constituted a major intelligence failure’
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Obama and the Democratic majority of 2009 will have to come up with some new medals to honor exceptional service in the national interest–bacuase the Congressional Medal of Honor is about as meaningful as a twist-off beer bottle cap.
June 19th, 2008 at 12:06 pmPeter, I here present you with the
June 19th, 2008 at 12:09 pmYOU SUCK MY DICK SO GREAT award.
They should change the name of that award to the Presidential Medal of Keeping Your Mouth Shut.
June 19th, 2008 at 12:09 pmThat’s the way thing s are dealt with in this administration, isn’t it?
Resign in disgrace, get a medal?
Maybe that’s what inspired Scotty’s tell-all — he didn’t get a frickin’ medal.
June 19th, 2008 at 12:10 pmPace may have his faults, but I always thought he got the ax because he was being a stick in the mud about Pres. Cheney’s wonderful plans for Iran. To wit:
http://thinkprogress.org/2007/02/12/pace-iran-iraq/
Notably, he shares his fate with the recently “retired” Adm. Fallon.
Of course, ultimately this has to be seen as an award for keeping his mouth shut like a good soldier. Makes you wonder what else he knows but isn’t saying.
http://www.asecondlookatthesaudis.com
June 19th, 2008 at 12:10 pmAnother Bush reverse-Midas moment; in addition to every thing else, Bush (and his Purple-heart band aided cohort) will be known for turning the respect and honor normally shown to military medal wearers to feces, by handing out awards like Spanky, at an Wimmin Hater’s Club meeting.
June 19th, 2008 at 12:13 pmThis so-called “medal of freedom” would be better called a “Medal of Fascism.”
June 19th, 2008 at 12:13 pmI guess it would be too obvious to just call it hush money.
June 19th, 2008 at 12:18 pmAnother recipient was Laurence H. Silberman. I guess that was a reward for the fine whitewashing job he did when he headed the WMD Study Commission. If you recall, the Commission concluded that:
‘the Intelligence Community was “dead wrong” in almost all of its pre-war judgments about Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction and that this constituted a major intelligence failure’
June 19th, 2008 at 12:20 pm5th Estate Says:
Obama and the Democratic majority of 2009 will have to come up with some new medals to honor exceptional service in the national interest–bacuase the Congressional Medal of Honor is about as meaningful as a twist-off beer bottle cap.
I have to correct your statement; The Congressional Medal of HONOR is won on the battlefield for extreme bravery above and beyond the call of duty and is the highest award for combat troops and aviators. And a high percentage are awarded posthumously.
The Medal of FREEDOM is the bottle cap you were talking about. But it USED to be valuable, til BushCo started the photo op give away program for it.
June 19th, 2008 at 12:22 pmOh, I thought Silberman got the award for leading the investigation of Bill Clinton’s sex life.
June 19th, 2008 at 12:24 pmGee…
WAR CRIMINAL awards “medal of ‘freedom’” to WAR CRIMINAL.
General Taguba was CORRECT.
And so was Pace in that “the good Lord” is WATCHING and is NOT going to be happy with these MURDERERS.
June 19th, 2008 at 12:26 pmshoeless Says:
Oh, I thought Silberman got the award for leading the investigation of Bill Clinton’s sex life.
He appointed the lead crotch-sniffer, Ken.
June 19th, 2008 at 12:28 pmBush didn’t mention the Iraq War because the Presidential Medal of Freedom is a civilian honor for “especially meritorious contribution to (1) the security or national interests of the United States, or (2) world peace, or (3) cultural or other significant public or private endeavors” (Executive Order 11085 dated Feb. 22, 1963).
Of course I think Bush has comphrensively re-written the qualifications thusly:
June 19th, 2008 at 12:34 pm“for especially meritorious contribution to (1) the security and interests of G. W. Bush and/or 2) of all his cronies and/or 3) US oil companies and/or 4) the GOP. And anything to do with world peace is an automatic disqualification.”
Peter Pace made Semper Fi a laughing matter, in my humble opinion. I never thought I would see a Marine kissing the asses of cowards, liars, and crooks the way he did.
June 19th, 2008 at 12:40 pm#10 Upside 99
Thanks for the correction.
June 19th, 2008 at 12:41 pmAfter my comment I looked up Medal of Honor and was about to go on a huge jag about how Pace etc couldn;t possbily qualify for it and then I realized my mistake and took a chill pill.
But as yo can see from the Medal of Freedom qualifications, I STILL don’t see how peter Pace (or Bremer etc) qualify.
5th Estate,
No worries, Being a Vietnam combat vet, I hold the MoH in very high esteem, now, the MoF, not so much.
And your comments are right on, and you can add George Tenet to that list as well, which further degrades its value.
June 19th, 2008 at 12:45 pmHurrah for the Toady Awards!
June 19th, 2008 at 12:47 pmFailure is rewarded again in the Bush administration. How many now? Since this a civilian award, what merits as a civilian qualifies him? He was just forced out of command as a soldier last year in disgrace. This is just a joke, as is Bush’s whole presidency.
June 19th, 2008 at 12:51 pmOf course Preznit Chimp didn’t mention the war — it pisses off voters.
The war in Iraq is unpopular. The chimp’s handlers told him not to talk about the war. So he doesn’t.
Same reason the Repugs who are running for office don’t mention the chimp: he’s unpopular.
Typical Repug electioneering: don’t mention ANYTHING that’s likely to piss off the voters unless you’re blaming it on the Democrats, and it’s hard — really hard — to blame the Dems for Preznit Chimp and his war.
June 19th, 2008 at 12:53 pmWait a minute…..A thread that mentions homosexuality and no post from Daryll?
June 19th, 2008 at 1:11 pmAnd Pace didn’t receive the “I kissed W’s ass daily and all I got was this lousy medal” T-dhirt?
June 19th, 2008 at 1:19 pmdhirt? OK, shirt, but I actually think dhirt was a freudian slip@
June 19th, 2008 at 1:19 pmIINB ~ are you invoking the name of that lil demon? Be careful what you wish for!!
June 19th, 2008 at 1:20 pm“And for flying nuclear tipped missiles over the domestic heartland while shipping key components for nuclear weapons to Taiwan, I now award you this Medal of Freedom…”
Yes, these events caused Pentagon Chief Bob Gates to terminate the top two Air Force leaders and they occurred on Peter Pace’s shift.
June 19th, 2008 at 1:24 pmThe solution is simple. Rename it the “Presidential Medal of Failure” and Pace, Tenet, Bremer, and Franks can wear it with honor.
June 19th, 2008 at 1:26 pmPeter Pace Poked a Pack of Pickled Peckers to get the MoF.
June 19th, 2008 at 1:26 pm.
… Because nothing says freedom like a Fascist Tyrant… NO?
.
June 19th, 2008 at 1:28 pmI guess Bush and Co. have cheapened and/or bastardized and/or broken every other aspect of our government, why not also reduce the MoF to little more than costume jewelry with a pretty blue ribbon.
Too bad for all the previous recipients for whom this award really meant something.
June 19th, 2008 at 1:37 pmi look at that and i see shame. nothing but shame.
June 19th, 2008 at 1:47 pmAnd might the next recipient be Paul Wolfowitz? He currently holds a Silberman like position:
http://www.state.gov/ r/ pa/ prs/ ps/ 2008/ jan/ 99684.htm
June 19th, 2008 at 2:23 pmWhat a disgrace! George W. Bush appears to give compliments and make awards not based on any merit but based on how much it will irritate his critics. Peter Pace was a pawn as Joint Chiefs and is a pawn again in accepting this medal.
June 19th, 2008 at 4:36 pmScum rises to the top.
June 20th, 2008 at 10:52 amMight I provide a bit of insight? For one, calling someone a chimp is highly disrespectful, especially to someone who’s been working for the better of your country for 30-something years. Also, I’d like to ask you all for proof about how the medal was given as “hush money.” Do any one of you have any actual proof of this or is it just conjecture that best suits you? On a third point, what’s been going on in Iraq has nothing to do with this medal. As said above, the Medal of Freedom is a CIVIL, not COMBAT, award. Pace has been making the U.S. a more secure place for a while.
July 1st, 2008 at 2:34 pmFinal point: If Pace resigned in disgrace as a protest against governmental affairs, why would he take a bribe to shut him up? Just a little something for you all to slam me on.
Let the insults begin.