Ambassador Paul Bremer, Whose September Remarks at DePauw Created Controversy, Receives Presidential Medal of Freedom

December 14, 2004

December 14, 2004, Greencastle, Ind. - L. Paul Bremer III, former U.S. administrator to Iraq, was one of three individuals who received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian honor, today. An Associated Press article notes the honor and alludes to comments Ambassador Bremer made in his September 16 Timothy and Sharon Ubben Lecture at DePauw that became front page news across America.

"Bremer was the top civilian U.S. official in postwar Iraq, overseeing the transfer of power to an interim Iraqi government in June," writes the AP's Jennifer Loven. "This fall, Bremer suggested the United States had paid a price in Iraq in the immediate aftermath of major combat operations because it did not have enough troops in place to stop the looting." You can access a report on Bremer's speech -- complete with audio and video clips -- by clicking here, and read about the controversy they later created here and here.

In presenting the award at the White House, President Bush stated, "For 14 months Jerry Bremer worked day and night in difficult and dangerous conditions to stabilize the country, to help its people rebuild and to establish a political process that would lead to justice and liberty." The two other individuals honored today were retired Gen. Tommy Franks, who oversaw combat in Afghanistan; and former CIA Director George Tenet.

Read more by clicking here.

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