Bush honors U.S. amb. to Iraq

BAGHDAD / IraqiNews.com: U.S. President George W Bush has bestowed the highest civil award on Ryan Crocker, the U.S. ambassador to Iraq and top Middle East diplomat whom Bush called “America’s Lawrence of Arabia”, Australian ABC News reported on Friday morning. During a ceremony at the State Department attended by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Bush placed the Presidential Medal of Freedom around Crocker’s neck before the pair posed for photographs. Former Prime Minister John Howard received the same medal earlier this week. “During his nearly four decades in the foreign service, Ryan Crocker has become known as America’s Lawrence of Arabia. His career has taken him to every corner of the Middle East,” Bush said during the ceremony. “His understanding of the region is unmatched,” he added. Bush praised Crocker for his nearly two years spent in Iraq. “Iraq is becoming a rising democracy, an ally in the war on terror, an inspiring model of freedom for people across the Middle East,” Bush said. “When the story of this transformation is written, historians will note the extraordinary partnership between two exceptional men: General David Petraeus and Ambassador Ryan Crocker.” Ashley Yehl, a State Department spokeswoman, said: “Ambassador Crocker will serve in his current position until his successor is named by President-elect (Barack) Obama.” He was appointed to the post in March 2007. A State Department official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said Obama had approved Crocker’s plan to step down on February 12, but gave no details on who his successor might be. Before Baghdad, Crocker served as US ambassador to Pakistan from October 2004 to March 2007. A fluent Arabic speaker, he has also served as ambassador to Syria, ambassador to Kuwait, and ambassador to Lebanon as well as taken diplomatic assignments in Iran, Qatar, Iraq and Egypt. “He was assigned to the American Embassy in Beirut during the Israeli invasion of Lebanon in 1982 and the bombings of the embassy and the Marine barracks in 1983,” the State Department website said. TE Lawrence, known as Lawrence of Arabia, was a British officer who led an Arab revolt against the Turks during World War I. SH (I) 1