The only people I have more contempt for than those who would send our young men and women to get shot at, get maimed and get killed in unnecessary wars, are those who support sending our young men and women to get shot at, get maimed and get killed in unnecessary wars while they themselves refused to, declined to serve, had “other priorities,” or had all kinds of excuses for not serving in those very same wars they so gung-ho supported and continue to support.
They are called “chickenhawks” and other even less flattering names.
We all know who they are. They have names like Limbaugh, Rove, Cheney, DeLay, Wolfowitz, Perle, Feith and — some say — Gingrich.
On the other hand, there are those who see war only as the last resort to defend our country’s security and then only when declared by Congress, but who nevertheless will serve when called upon.
One of them is a man who is presently vying for the Republican presidential nomination — a man whose views and policies I generally do not support, but a man who served his country when he was called. His name is Ron Paul.
The two men — the one who has supported the Vietnam, Afghanistan and Iraq wars, but never served, and the man who served although he opposes war — “exchanged views” on this issue during last night’s GOP presidential debate.
Ron Paul has previously criticized Gingrich for not serving in the military, taking a deferment during the Vietnam War and has called the former Speaker a “chickenhawk.”
Ron Paul served as a flight surgeon during the Vietnam War after he was drafted.
When one of the debate moderators brought the issue up, Gingrich was the first to speak by saying, “Well, Dr. Paul makes a lot of comments. It’s part of his style.” Gingrich then continued to tell about how he had grown up in a military family — “an Army brat” — and about the defense related civilian positions he has held. He also talked about the plight of New Hampshire veterans “in the north country” in midwinter having to go all the way to Boston for treatment.
When Ron Paul was asked whether he would use the “chickenhawk” phrase again, Paul responded:
Yeah. I think people who don’t serve when they could and they get three or four or even five deferments aren’t — they — they have no right to send our kids off to war, and — and not be even against the wars that we have. I’m trying to stop the wars, but at least, you know, I went when they called me up.
But, you know, the — the veterans’ problem is a big one. We have hundreds of thousands coming back from these wars that were undeclared, they were unnecessary, they haven’t been won, they’re unwinnable, and we have hundreds of thousands looking for care. And we have an epidemic of suicide coming back. And so many have — I mean, if you add up all the contractors and all the wars going on, Afghanistan and in Iraq, we’ve lost 8,500 Americans, and severe injuries, over 40,000. And these are undeclared war.
Paul then directed his words invoking the Constitution and its rules to Rick Perry: “And I don’t like it when we send our kids off to fight these wars, and when those individuals didn’t go themselves, and then come up and when they’re asked, they say, oh, I don’t think I could — one person could have made a difference,” concluding: “I have a pet peeve that annoys me to a great deal, because when I see these young men coming back, my heart weeps for them.”
In his rebuttal, Gingrich said:
Well, Dr. Paul has a long history of saying things that are inaccurate and false. The fact is, I never asked for deferment. I was married with a child. It was never a question. My father was, in fact, serving in Vietnam in the Mekong Delta at the time he’s referring to.
I think I have a pretty good idea of what it’s like as a family to worry about your father getting killed. And I personally resent the kind of comments and aspersions he routinely makes without accurate information and then just slurs people with.
In a final follow-up, Paul said, “When I was drafted, I was married and had two kids, and I went,” for which he was applauded.
Trying to be heard over the applause, Gingrich said, “I wasn’t eligible for the draft. I wasn’t eligible for the draft.”
CODA:
In a CNN Republican debate fact-checking series, CNN fact-checks Gingrich’s statement, “The fact is, I never asked for deferment. I was married with a child. It was never a question” and gives the following “verdict”:
True, but incomplete. Gingrich is correct, that he was not eligible for the draft. But that does not mean he could not have been one of the 3 million Americans who ultimately served in the war.
That fact seems to be something he has considered. “Given everything I believe in, a large part of me thinks I should have gone over,” he told Vanity Fair in 1989.
Debate transcript courtesy The Washington Post
