Double Dipping?

Kudos the writer of this letter to the editor in today's Washington Post:

"I was puzzled at the award of the Presidential Medal of Freedom to retired Army Gen. Tommy Franks [Style, Dec. 15]. It is, after all, the nation's highest civilian award, and almost everything Gen. Franks has done in life was as a military officer. So far as I know, he has only two major accomplishments as a civilian: promoting his autobiography and endorsing President Bush for reelection. As the 'autobiography' was actually written by someone else, was the Medal of Freedom for endorsing Mr. Bush?"

Most of the commentary about Bush awarding the medals to Tenet, Franks, and Bremer has questioned whether their particular accomplishments merit the awards. However, in Franks' case, he may not even have been eligible for consideration for the award, since all of the accomplishments cited by Bush were when Franks was in uniform. According to MedalofFreedom.com:

The Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian award, recognizes exceptional meritorious service. The medal was established by President Truman in 1945 to recognize notable service in the war. In 1963, President Kennedy reintroduced it as an honor for distinguished civilian service in peacetime.

When he retired from the Army in 2003, Franks was awarded the Defense Distinguished Service Medal, the military's third highest award, and the highest award not involving specific acts of heroism, presumably for the very same accomplishments Bush cited. Kind of gives a new meaning to the term "double dipping."