WASHINGTON (AFP) — President George W. Bush praised three "true friends of the United States" as he awarded the nation's highest civilian honor to Tony Blair, John Howard and Colombian leader Alvaro Uribe.
The three men were given the Presidential Medal of Freedom at a ceremony at the White House in the final days of Bush's presidency.
"This afternoon I'm pleased to award the Medal of Freedom to three extraordinary leaders," Bush said of his Colombian counterpart, former British prime minister Blair and former Australian leader Howard.
Each of the men was "a true friend of the United States who met historic challenges with great tenacity, and who provides a lasting example of statesmanship at home and abroad," he said.
Blair and Howard were Bush's staunchest allies in the 2003 US-led invasion of Iraq, and the outgoing president paid lengthy tribute to each of them and their "firm adherence to the principles of freedom and democratic values."
"They're the sort of guys who look you in the eye and tell you the truth and keep their word," he said.
Bush was jlavish in his praise of Howard, who he said "never wavered in his support for liberty, and free institutions, and the rule of law as the true and hopeful alternatives to ideologies of violence and repression."
"He's a man of honesty and moral clarity. He can make a decision, he can defend it, and he stands his ground. That's why I called him a Man of Steel," Bush added.
But the US president made no mention of the controversy surrounding Howard's visit and his stay in Blair House, which denied incoming president-elect Barack Obama and his family the chance of staying in an official residence for a couple of weeks.
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