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Politics : Foreign Affairs Discussion Group -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: michael97123 who wrote (154243)	12/16/2004 4:30:00 PM
From: goldworldnet	Respond to of 281500

Pierre Salinger actually moved to France. He died there in October. * * *

To: michael97123 who wrote (154243)	12/16/2004 5:19:02 PM
From: stockman_scott	Respond to of 281500

Bush should not be doling out medals just yet _______________________________________________ Editorial Thursday, December 16 2004 Copyright © 2004 Blethen Maine Newspapers Inc. morningsentinel.mainetoday.com President Bush is still refusing to acknowledge the failings that plague the war in Iraq. His revisions of recent history have grown so brazen that he is now handing out awards -- big awards -- to some of the men who have helped him execute the war. On Tuesday, Bush bestowed the nation's highest civilian honor, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, on Gen. Tommy R. Franks, the overall commander of the invasion of Iraq; L. Paul Bremer III, the chief civilian administrator of the American occupation of the country; and George J. Tenet, the longtime director of central intelligence who, based on bogus intelligence, built the case for our invasion and occupation of Iraq. The ceremony at the East Room of the White House was one of Bush's most blatant attempts yet to create the illusion that the war is going well and that Iraq is clearly on the brink of democracy. In presenting the awards, the president said, "Today this honor 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." With these words, Bush continues his pattern of distortion and deception. He seems to believe the American people are buying the nonsense. Many are not. Likewise, no one should be swayed or impressed because Bush is doling out awards, especially to Tenet, who has been criticized for his role in and mishandling of the war on terror. Reports from the 9/11 commission and the U.S. Senate Intelligence Committee said Tenet shoulders much of the blame for the intelligence failures that preceded the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. And before the war in Iraq, Tenet proclaimed that Saddam Hussein had biological, chemical and possibly nuclear weapons. Based in large part on this information, later found to be untrue, Bush and his administration led us into a war that was not necessary and that has now killed more than 1,300 members of the U.S. military and as many as 100,000 Iraqis. The erroneous information about Saddam's having weapons of mass destruction is the kind of dangerously flawed intelligence that the CIA was providing under Tenet's watch. The CIA's problems during the Tenet years became much of the focus of an investigation into how the Bush administration built a case for war. Despite all of this, Bush praised Tenet this week and placed the prestigious Presidential Medal of Freedom around his neck. Such a tribute to Tenet, who resigned June 3, is ridiculous. It is a transparent effort to ignore serious deficiencies in his job performance and the chaos and carnage that continue to grow in Iraq.