existed when Gates served as deputy director for intelligence, deputy director of CIA, and finally director of CIA." Also, according to Newsweek, Gates, as deputy director of CIA, allegedly vouched for the comprehensiveness of a CIA study presented to the Senate and President Reagan alleging that the Soviet Union played a role in the 1981 shooting of Pope John Paul II. A CIA internal review later denounced the report as being skewed, but that Gates did not try to influence the report's conclusions. Shortly after his retirement from his tenure as Defense Secretary in summer 2011, during a meeting of the National Security Council Principals Committee, Gates highlighted many of the measures taken by the U.S. to advance Israel's security during the Obama Administration, including providing access to state of the art weaponry, assisting with the development of missile-defense systems, and sharing high-level intelligence, before expressing his view that the U.S. has received nothing in return from the Israeli government with regards to the peace process. According to senior U.S. administration sources, other officials present offered no rebuttal to Gates' analysis. This was not the first time Gates publicly expressed frustration with the Netanyahu government, with which he had worked hard to provide wide-scale and deep military cooperation. The Likud party of Israel responded to Gates' description of Benjamin Netanyahu as a danger to Israel's future by claiming that most Israelis support the prime minister. Awards and decorations Gates' awards and decorations include: Government awards Presidential Medal of Freedom Presidential Citizens Medal National Security Medal National Intelligence Distinguished Service Medal (2 awards) Distinguished Intelligence Medal (3 awards) Other awards Liberty Medal (2011) Eagle Scout Distinguished Eagle Scout Award Silver Buffalo Award Vigil Honor, Order of the Arrow Distinguished Service Award (DSA), Order of the Arrow, August 4, 2015 Honorary Doctorate of Philosophy from Kansas State University Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from College of William and Mary Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from Georgetown University Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from Indiana University Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from The University of Oklahoma Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from Yale University Honorary Doctorate of Laws from the University of Notre Dame Honorary Doctorate of Public Administration from The University of South Carolina College of William and Mary – Algernon Sydney Sullivan Award College of William and Mary Alumni Association – Alumni Medallion Corps of Cadets Hall of Honor (First and