The Yonng Chickenhawks

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Thu, 13 Oct 2005 05:12:40 -0700

The Yonng Chickenhawks

 

 

 

(Actually, all who support the war have a moral obligation to enlist.

If they believe it is a true and just cause they should be first in

line to go. Of course they are phoney, just like all the war

mongers/leaders in D.C. who never served either.)

 

 

The Young Chickenhawks

 

Clarisse Profilett, The Nation, October 12, 2005

 

http://www.thenation.com/doc/20051031/the_young_chickenhawks

 

The cheeky website buzzflash.com recently posted a petition calling for

Jenna and Barbara Bush to serve in Iraq. But the famously private Bush

twins have never disclosed their views on the war; they may even be

opposed. So calling for them to serve might not be fair. But there are

young and prominent Bush-backers who deserve to be targets of such a

petition: The assorted leaders of the College Republicans and Young

Americans for Freedom (YAF) are cheerleaders for a war they are

unwilling to fight.

 

Both YAF and College Republicans have staged prowar demonstrations on

college campuses across the country. Prior to the invasion of Iraq, the

College Republican National Committee released a statement proclaiming,

" As our troops prepare for battle, the College Republican National

Committee and its 100,000 members are prepared to show the world that

the majority of students support the efforts of the president and our

troops to liberate the people of Iraq and to rid the world of this

murderous dictator and his weapons of mass destruction. " The CRNC's

website praises George W. Bush for " defending the peace by taking the

fight to the terrorists. "

 

The even more zealous YAFers have made it clear that they not only

support the war but are openly hostile to those who oppose it. Their

rowdy prowar rallies have attracted plenty of press. In March 2003, CBS

news reported on a YAF event held in Minnesota at which the chapter's

executive director Chris Hill had strong words for antiwar activists:

" The top of the antiwar movement is led by communists, and I will call

them that, " he said. " Unlike these communists, we have truth on our

side.... We say to those who oppose this war, Go to France. " Hill's YAF

chapter has also publicly denigrated antiwar demonstrators as " cowards. "

All of this raises the question: If opponents of the war should go to

France, shouldn't Hill--and other members of YAF and College

Republicans--go to Iraq? In response to a query by The Nation about

whether any leaders have volunteered to fight the war in Iraq, Shauna

Moser, the chairman of Penn State YAF, said only that information on YAF

officials could be found with a simple " search in a search engine. "

 

Indeed, YAF chairman Erik Johnson, vice chairman Darren Marks and

fourteen other national officials have posted brief autobiographies on

YAF's website. According to these bios, not one of them has served in

the military or has any intention to do so in the future. YAF official

Chris Hill told The Nation that he had been a member of his university's

Navy ROTC prgram and the moderator of a blog where he offered advice to

aspiring soldiers on how to obtain a military commission. But he chose

to seek a master's degree rather than join the armed forces. Asked about

this decision, he said, " But I know people over there, and that's a

fact. " Does it undermine his group's prowar position if all the YAF

higher-ups are unwilling to participate directly in the war? " I don't

think so, " Hill replied. " You don't have to be involved in something to

believe in it. "

 

When The Nation queried the College Republicans about the military

record of its senior officers, it received a similar reaction. In fact,

the assistant to executive director Michael Krueger--who identified

herself only as " Amanda " --went on the defensive, dodging the question

and maintaining that at the CRNC, " we don't have a power structure like

a national board. " That was a strange response, considering the group's

website promotes a " National Board. " And none of these board members--

the controversial chairman Paul Gourley, and officers Jess Beeson,

Nathaniel Harding, Britton Alexander, Dan Schuberth, and Tom

Robins--boast any military experience. Their posted bios do not refer to

any past, present or future military service, though they do describe in

detail the postgraduate work and political aspirations of these young

right-wingers.

 

Conservative campus groups like YAF and College Republicans are growing

in strength and numbers. And since the start of the Iraq War, these

outfits have stood shoulder-to-shoulder with Bush to support the war,

but they have not stood alongside the soldiers doing the actual fighting

and dying. They want someone else to do the hard work.

 

 

 

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