Chickenhawk

[[File:GW-Bush-in-uniform.jpg|thumb|200px|George W. Bush, Texas Air National Guard]]
{{war}}
{{cquote|I will do anything in my power to support our military, short of enlisting.|||[[Stephen Colbert]]}}
{{cquote|We’re still playing the game<br />
With the bravery of being out of range<br />
We still zap and maim<br />
With the bravery of being out of range<br />
Still strafing the train<br />
With the bravery of being out of range<br />
We still gain terrain<br />
With the bravery of being out of range<br />
Still fucking insane<br />
With the bravery of being out of range<br />
Still channeling John Wayne<br />
With the bravery of being out of range<br />
Still [[Suicide|blowing out our own damn brains]]<br />
Yeah with the bravery of being out of range<br />|||Roger Waters “The Bravery of Being Out of Range<ref>https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=JamLmpVOgE0</ref>}}
A '''chickenhawk''' is a predatory bird that, according to humans, likes the taste of chicken, though they much prefer small wild animals. It can also be a person in a position of public prominence or power who simultaneously displays the following two traits:
*Aggressive support for [[Gunboat diplomacy|military force as a primary instrument of foreign policy]].
*A documentable lack of combat experience (usually despite having the opportunity to fight, or even {{wpl|Cowardice|actively dodging it|).}}

Worth noting is that knowing the alternative and [[Euphemism|possibly unsavoury meanings]] of political labels is wise, as any [[Tea Party|Teabagger]] could tell you.{{efn|What the average Teabagger would know about wisdom is a separate question.}} In this case, the term "chickenhawk" also happens to be {{wpl|Chickenhawk (gay slang)|a gay male slang term}} for a man who likes 'em [[Children|young]]. ''Real'' young. Young enough [[Child sexual abuse|to go to prison over]].

==History lesson==
The [[George W. Bush|Bush]] Administration (2001–2009) had an abundance of these creatures. Indeed, after the resignation of [[Colin Powell]], there was ''no one'' with genuine combat experience in any prominent executive position. In fact, several of the listed chickenhawks below were notable draft dodgers, especially from [[Vietnam War|Vietnam]]. This probably led to their policies being based on dangerously abstracted notions of the nature and efficacy of [[war]].

Those (such as [[Dwight Eisenhower]]) who have witnessed the horrors of war first-hand tend to be cautious about willfully unleashing such militaristic havoc again, no matter how remote or foreign the battlefield, with perhaps the notable exception of [[John McCain]], who seemed to jump at the chance of bombing the tar out of someone at every chance (though he didn't share the chickenhawks' fondness for [[torture]]). As well as not appreciating the [[war crimes|full human costs]] of their decisions, there remains the uncomfortable suspicion that chickenhawks are prepared to send others to risk their lives in ways that chickenhawks would ''never'' risk their own and would benefit chickenhawks and allies of chickenhawks.

==Prominent chickenhawks==
{{cquote|This is the problem with civilians wanting to go to war. Once you've been there, once you've seen it, you never want to go again unless you absolutely have to... It's like [[France]].|||Lt. Gen. Miller, ''In the Loop''}}
Here is a short list of prominent chickenhawks:

*[[Glenn Beck]]
*[[Tony Blair]] (dishonorable mention){{efn|[[British]], but dragged the UK into largest number of wars of any British PM. Combat experience: [[zero]].}}
*[[George W. Bush]]{{efn|Nominally served in the military, but in a Texas National Guard unit with no possibility of being sent to Vietnam. Eventually, he got bored and stopped even showing up for duty. There was no punishment, and he was given an honorable discharge on account of [[Nepotism|his father being a rich and powerful politician]] — which is also how he got such cushy duty in the first place.}}
*[[Dick Cheney]]
*[[Tom Delay]]
*[[Larry Elder]]
*[[Newt Gingrich]]
*[[Sean Hannity]]
*[[Stephen Harper]]
*[[Christopher Hitchens]] — ...mmmaybe, maybe not. There was no military service in Britain during the time he would have applied. Hitchens was also not exactly a coward; for his journalism, he literally went to [[Iraq]], [[Syria]], [[Lebanon]], and ''even [[North Korea]]'' just for the sake of a story. However, his feverent support of the War on Terror leaves this a possibility.
*[[Charles Krauthammer]]
*[[William Kristol]]
*[[Scooter Libby]]
*[[Joe Lieberman]]
*[[Rush Limbaugh]]
*[[Trent Lott]]
*[[Ted Nugent]]{{efn|Nugent gets bonus points for also being [[Pedophilia|the other kind of chickenhawk]]. He even [http://www.metrolyrics.com/jailbait-lyrics-ted-nugent.html wrote a song about it].}}
*[[Bill O'Reilly]]
*[[Dan Quayle]]
*[[Dennis Prager]]
*[[Karl Rove]]
*[[Antonin Scalia]]
*[[Ben Shapiro]]
*[[Pat Toomey]]
*[[Donald Trump]] — actively got out of serving in 'nam (Bonespur, can't remember which foot) and wants to "bomb the shit out of" pretty much everything, including civilians who happen to be related to terrorists.
*[[Paul Wolfowitz]]

===Special category===
*Every Representative and Senator who voted for the [[Iraq War]], but avoided serving if and when it was possible for them, and did not recant or repudiate their vote by the end of 2005.

===Chickenhawks that deserve far more respect than the above===
[[File:Accipiter-cooperii-01.jpg|thumb|150px|This chickenhawk has never served in war but at least has never voted for one.]]
*{{wpl|Cooper's Hawk|Cooper's Hawks}}
*{{wpl|Sharp-shinned Hawk|Sharp-shinned Hawks}}
*{{wpl|Red-tailed Hawk|Red-tailed Hawks}}

==See also==
*[[:Category:Chickenhawks|The full list]]!
*[[Gun nut]]
*[[Internet tough guy]]
*[[National Rifle Association]]

==External links and sources==
*''The New Hampshire Gazette'' ("the nation's oldest newspaper") is the home of the original [http://www.nhgazette.com/chickenhawks/ Chickenhawk Hall of Shame.]
*[http://web.archive.org/web/20040512024459/http://www.chickenhawkcards.com/ Chickenhawk Playing Cards] were produced to honor the chickenhawks' contribution to war, since, of course, it's not real unless someone makes a deck of cards to commemorate it.
*[http://web.archive.org/web/20090331115420/http://www.michaelmoore.com/books-films/dudewheresmycountry/chickenhawks/index.php Chickenhawks] at commie [[Michael Moore]]'s web site.
*[http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Chickenhawk Sourcewatch] also reports on the phenomenon, but they include [[Pat Buchanan]] on their list which is ridiculous since Buchanan has opposed every war since the [[Berlin Wall]] came down (as well as both World Wars. He was also planning to join the military after college until an accident)
*[http://web.archive.org/web/20090211062850/http://www.toostupidtobepresident.com/shockwave/chickenhawks.htm Flight of the Chickenhawks] from toostupidtobepresident.com.
*[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SsktNLgpCs8 "Chickenhawk"] by Roy Zimmerman
*[https://archive.org/stream/warpoemsofsiegfr00sassrich#page/38/mode/2up "Suicide in the Trenches"] by Siegfried Sasson

==Notes==
{{reflist|group=note}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

[[Category:United States politics]]
[[Category:Chickenhawks|*]]
[[Category:Neologisms]]
[[Category:Political strategery]]
[[Category:War]]

Categories: United States politics, Chickenhawks, Neologisms, Political strategery, War