Demagogue

There was some outrage, and a lot of ridicule, when Shrub decorated some of the folks who failed most spectacularly in the Iraq adventure (and that's a damned tough competition to win). I don't know if British subjects are eligible for the Presidential Medal of Freedom, but at least there's a consolation prize. Via Private Eye:

Unnoticed in the new year honours list was a knighthood for one Mark Allen, listed merely as a former consellor to the foreign office. In fact, Allen was until recently the MI6 director responsible for operations in the Middle East - including Iraq.

By the time Lord Butler issued his report last year, MI6 had already conceded that some of its intelligence on the imminent threat from Saddam was "flawed" (ie rubbish)....

In his evidence to Butler the then MI6 chief Sir Richard Dearlove tried to shift the blame to his subordinates. But if Dearlove was incapable of assessing the reliability of MI6's sources in the region, the same can hardly be said for Mark Allen, who is widely regarded (not just by himself) as an expert on the Middle East. Yet he too fell down on the job....

It is unusual for a retired MI6 officer (other than the chief) to be knighted. But as Tony Blair showed by appointing the disgraced [John] Scarlett to the top job [when Sir Richard stepped down], the government has decided that all those responsible for the appalling intelligence failures over Iraq must be honoured and/or promoted - presumably as a reward for their silence. And so...arise, Sir Mark!