Sunday, June 06, 2004

Chickenshit

Flipflopper:

After pressure from troops who wanted recognition for fighting in Iraq and in Afghanistan -- and not just in one all-encompassing "Global War on Terrorism" -- President Bush quietly signed legislation Friday night establishing separate new medals for their service.

Rep. Silvestre Reyes called the "Global War on Terrorism" medal a "purely political" device. (Courtesy of www.defenselink.mil)

A week before launching the Iraq invasion in March 2003, Bush established a single "Global War on Terrorism" medal that later proved unpopular in the ranks. But before recessing last month, the House and Senate overwhelmingly approved legislation to create Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom medals, giving troops specific recognition for the campaigns in which they served.

Rep. Silvestre Reyes (D-Tex.), a Vietnam combat vet who was among the bill's original sponsors, called the Global medal a "purely political" device that sought to more closely connect the Iraq war to the fight against al Qaeda. He criticized Bush's decision to sign the law without fanfare: "In Texas we would call it chicken[poop]," he told us yesterday. "We call it thumbing his nose at something he doesn't like."