Strangely, many conservative Washington “hawks” who are strong advocates of war contrived to duck combat duty when they were young. The label “chickenhawk” is applied to such leaders.
In fall 2002, after the Bush administration began beating the war drums against Iraq, retired Marine Corps Gen. Anthony Zinni, President Bush’s special envoy to the Middle East, gave a speech in Florida pointing out this odd contradiction.
Zinni noted that former generals Norman Schwarzkopf, Colin Powell, Brent Scowcroft and the like were doubtful about invading Iraq — “and all those who never fired a shot in anger are really hellbent to go to war.”
At that time, columnist Jan Russell noted that Vice President Dick Cheney, Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz, adviser Karl Rove, Attorney General John Ashcroft, war adviser Richard Perle and various other Republican war advocates personally had arranged to avoid military service.
The New Hampshire Gazette, America’s oldest newspaper, and other groups have posted GOP chickenhawk lists on the Internet. Newt Gingrich, Dan Quayle, Trent Lott, Tom DeLay, William Bennett, Elliott Abrams, George Will, Rush Limbaugh, Kenneth Starr, Bob Barr, Ari Fleischer, Antonin Scalia, Clarence Thomas, Bill O’Reilly, Phil Gramm, Jeb Bush, Steve Forbes, Jerry Falwell — these and many others are cited for ducking wars.
President Bush himself managed to avoid Vietnam combat. After he graduated from Yale in 1968, his father’s political friends got him a rare billet in the Texas Air National Guard. Although he signed up for a six-year enlistment, he left in 1972 to work in a Republican political campaign in Alabama. Supposedly, he was to report to an Alabama Guard unit, but the commander of that unit has no memory of him. Allegations of “going AWOL” have been raised.
This week, Democratic presidential front-runner John Kerry, a decorated Vietnam War hero (Silver Star, Bronze Star and three Purple Hearts), suggested that Bush and the military should open records “to answer those questions” about his Alabama duty.
Meanwhile, everyone should ponder the disturbing pattern of Washington hawks — leaders eager to send young soldiers into killing fields — who wriggled out of that dangerous duty themselves.
In fall 2002, after the Bush administration began beating the war drums against Iraq, retired Marine Corps Gen. Anthony Zinni, President Bush’s special envoy to the Middle East, gave a speech in Florida pointing out this odd contradiction.
Zinni noted that former generals Norman Schwarzkopf, Colin Powell, Brent Scowcroft and the like were doubtful about invading Iraq — “and all those who never fired a shot in anger are really hellbent to go to war.”
At that time, columnist Jan Russell noted that Vice President Dick Cheney, Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz, adviser Karl Rove, Attorney General John Ashcroft, war adviser Richard Perle and various other Republican war advocates personally had arranged to avoid military service.
The New Hampshire Gazette, America’s oldest newspaper, and other groups have posted GOP chickenhawk lists on the Internet. Newt Gingrich, Dan Quayle, Trent Lott, Tom DeLay, William Bennett, Elliott Abrams, George Will, Rush Limbaugh, Kenneth Starr, Bob Barr, Ari Fleischer, Antonin Scalia, Clarence Thomas, Bill O’Reilly, Phil Gramm, Jeb Bush, Steve Forbes, Jerry Falwell — these and many others are cited for ducking wars.
President Bush himself managed to avoid Vietnam combat. After he graduated from Yale in 1968, his father’s political friends got him a rare billet in the Texas Air National Guard. Although he signed up for a six-year enlistment, he left in 1972 to work in a Republican political campaign in Alabama. Supposedly, he was to report to an Alabama Guard unit, but the commander of that unit has no memory of him. Allegations of “going AWOL” have been raised.
This week, Democratic presidential front-runner John Kerry, a decorated Vietnam War hero (Silver Star, Bronze Star and three Purple Hearts), suggested that Bush and the military should open records “to answer those questions” about his Alabama duty.
Meanwhile, everyone should ponder the disturbing pattern of Washington hawks — leaders eager to send young soldiers into killing fields — who wriggled out of that dangerous duty themselves.
