The Chickens of War

President Obama did not get us inot these God forsaken wars but he will get us out...eventually. Lest we forget, We were attacked on 9-11 under the watch of George W. Bush and Dick Cheney. These same folks love to brag about keeping us safe. We went into Afghanistan because that is where Osama Bin Laden was located. The curious part is that Six years too late, George W. Bush finally acknowledged that 15 of the 19 September 11 hijackers were citizens of the U.S. ally, Saudi Arabia. This fact begs for further investigation. We did have a shot at Bin Ladden early in the war but Bush screwed it up and we allowed him to escape. We then took our eyes off of the ball and went inot Iraq on false information and lies. Iraq had nothing to do with 9-11. I thought it might be worth considering the chickens that caused all of this grief and their cheer section. Please see the facts below....

George Bush- In January 1968 Bush was set to graduate from Yale University, making him eligible for the draft and, in all likelihood, service in Vietnam. Bush sought entry into the officer corps of the Texas Air National Guard, which would minimise his chances of being dispatched to Vietnam. Despite scoring low on the entrance exam, Bush was accepted.

The controversy over his military service has concentrated on whether his father, George Herbert Walker Bush who was a U.S. Congressman at the time, exerted influence to ensure his son obtained a 'soft' posting in the National Guard and whether he completed his duties sufficiently to justify his honourable discharge in 1973.

"Bush signed a six-year "military service obligation," he was required to attend at least 44 inactive-duty training drills each fiscal year beginning July 1. But Bush's own records show that he fell short of that requirement, attending only 36 drills in the 1972-73 period, and only 12 in the 1973-74 period." [1]

Bush was assigned serve at the Houston Air National Guard base between 1968 and 1973. Bush graduated from flight school in November 1969 and undertook a further six months training in the F-102 fighter-interceptor. Between June 1970 and April 1972 he flew frequently with his unit.

However, in May 1972 he sought and gained approval to move to Alabama to work on the U.S. Senate campaign of Republican Party candidate, Winton Blount. While in Alabama Bush was obliged to continue his duties with another National Guard unit. After failing to have an annual physical examination Bush was removed from flight duty on August 1, 1972.

Bush's military records reveal that he did not do any duty between April 16 and October 28, 1972 and missed training altogether in December 1972 and February and March 1973. There were no records of him having served with any unit in Alabama. It is a requirement of members of the National Guard that they accumulate a minimum of 50 service points in a year. (Each full day of weekend training is worth two points).

On May 2, 1973 one of Bush's superiors noted that "Lt. Bush has not been observed at this unit during the period of report. A civilian occupation made it necessary for him to move to Montgomery, Alabama. He cleared this base on 15 May 1972 and has been performing equivalent training in a non-flying status with the 187th Tac Recon Gp, Dannelly ANG Base, Alabama." However, no records for service in Alabama exist.[2]

Subsequently Bush spent 36 days in May, June and July 1973 on duty, accumulating 41 points. According to the Boston Globe, he was then awarded 15 'gratuitous' service points - enough to get him across the 50 service points threshold. His last service day was July 30, 1973 and - while originally due to serve through to November 1974 - was honourably discharged early to enable him to attend Harvard Business School. [3]

Furthermore, a U.S. News analysis showed that "during the final two years of his obligation, Bush did not comply with Air Force regulations that impose a time limit on making up missed drills. What's more, he apparently never made up five months of drills he missed in 1972, contrary to assertions by the administration."

Dick Cheney- "On Oct. 6, 1965, the Selective Service lifted its ban against drafting married men who had no children. Nine months and two days later, Mr. Cheney's first daughter, Elizabeth, was born."

This quote comes from a Saturday NYTimes article --
"Cheney's Five Draft Deferments During the Vietnam Era Emerge as a Campaign Issue" -- discussing the lengths VP Dick Cheney went to in order to avoid serving during the Viet Nam war.

It is apparent from the piece that Richard Cheney did everything humanly possible -- short of fleeing to Canada -- to avoid military conscription: He applied for and recieved 5 student deferments, a number described as "incredible" by professor David Curry of the University of Missouri in St. Louis. Curry has written extensively about the draft, including a 1985 book, "Sunshine Patriots: Punishment and the Vietnam Offender." The Times quotes Mr. Curry as observing: "That's a lot of times for the draft board to say O.K."

G.O.P. presidential candidate Giuliani had the gall to question the courage of Democratic war hero John Kerry. Yet,
"Giuliani did not serve in the military during the Vietnam War. He received a student deferment while at Manhattan College and another while at NYU Law. Upon graduation from NYU Law in 1968, he was classified as 1-A, available for military service. He applied for a deferment but was rejected. In 1969, MacMahon (the judge for whom he was clerking) wrote a letter to Giuliani's draft board, asking that he be reclassified as 2-A, civilian occupation deferment, because Giuliani, who was a law clerk for MacMahon, was an essential employee. The deferment was granted. In 1970, Giuliani received a high draft lottery number; he was not called up for service although by then he had been reclassified 1-A.

Rush Limbaugh- After using his pilonidal cyst - a congenital birth defect - to
avoid military service in the Vietnam War, Limbaugh briefly
worked for radio stations in Pittsburgh, PA and Kansas City,
MO. Fired from both jobs, he worked as a wiener salesman for
the KC Royals baseball franchise, eventually slithering back into
the radio business.

If you want to do a general search on the internet, you will see the many Rebublican Chickenhawks vs. the Democrats that actually did serve. Check it out for yourself.