“Poverty, Poetry, and new Titles of Honour, make Men ridiculous.” Benjamin Franklin, Poor Richard’s Almanac, 1736
2004: President Bush awards the Presidential Medal of Freedom today to 3 individuals deeply involved in the early messy days of Iraq: Paul Bremer, George Tenet, and Gen. Tommy Franks. Bremer’s disbanding of the Iraqi army and isolation of Baath party members helped fuel the insurgency, encouraging powerful men with guns to become US enemies. Tenet played a role in putting the nation into the Iraq black hole, encouraging Bush with his infamous ‘slam dunk’ statement. Former Army lieutenant Paul Rieckhoff, an Iraq vet, called the Bush’s awards “a slap in the face to the troops”, saying the administration “loves the big PR move ... It validates how out of touch Washington is with the reality of what is on the ground in Iraq”. Former Bush insider Ken Adelman has said the three “who got the highest civilian medals the President can give were responsible for a lot of the debacle that was Iraq”.
2006: The Army’s top general, Peter Schoomaker, testified to Congress today. Schoomaker said that the active-duty Army “will break” unless changes are made. Banging his hands on the table, Schoomaker said current Pentagon policies are “not right”.
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