Replies to post #46487 on Discover GOP Opprobrium

[teapeebubbles]

Bush Awards Peter Pace Presidential Medal Of Freedom, Makes No Mention Of Iraq War....

Today, 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.

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.