Letter: Bush cheapens civilian honor

Thursday, Dec. 30, 2004 | 9:09 a.m.

I'm curious about what criteria President Bush used in awarding our highest civilian honor, the Medal of Freedom, to Gen. Tommy Franks, former CIA director George Tenet and former Iraqi administrator Paul Bremer.

While there's no question that Gen. Franks had a distinguished military career, there is nothing in his civilian life that should merit such a prestigious award, other then his campaigning for Bush.

And it was George Tenet who erroneously assured Bush that it was a "slam dunk" that Saddam had weapons of mass destruction, thereby getting us into this Iraqi debacle.

And Paul Bremer made the decision to disband the Iraqi Army and police forces, leaving American troops to maintain order among 25 million Iraqis.

Why should these three, particularly Tenet and Bremer, be given these awards? It cheapens this medal for those who hold it, and for those in the future who would receive such an honor.

RICHARD J. MUNDY