Norm Coleman : ChickenHawk Iraq Re- Solution

News Alert :
Minnesota Senator Norm Coleman has become a Co-Sponsor of legislation ( Senate Amendment 3096 ) that would require that President Bush change the mission of U.S. troops and set a goal of completing such a mission. link

Why is this a ChickenHawk resolution ?
Generally a ChickenHawk is someone who advocates that others go to war while they are not directly involved.
So, what is the “mission compeletion date” ?
If it were enacted today, the date would be just after Coleman’s Senate term expires !

Mike Ciresi penned an editorial chastising Coleman for using General David Petraeus patriotism instead of debating ”policies that affect people's lives and our nation's future -- not advertisements. ”
Ciresi advocates the right policy : ”Support a comprehensive surge in diplomacy and the convening of an international peace conference under the auspices of the U.N. Security Council that should involve all regional governments.”
Ciresi seems to be embracing a key recommendation of the bi-partisian Iraq Study Group which called upon the United States to “embark on a robust diplomatic effort to establish an international support structure intended to stabilize Iraq and ease tensions in other countries in the region.”

Sadly, while Coleman is hiding behind an exclusively Republican sponsored amendment 3096, he should become a co-sponsor of Senate Amendment 2931 which is a bi-partisian effort being advanced by three of his fellow members on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. This amendment is consistent with Ciresi’s outline.

I am not a supporter of Al Franken, yet somehow, he must be wondering if it’s time for an update on the chapter "Operation Chickenhawk" from his 1996 book Rush Limbaugh is a Big Fat Idiot. The story details the exploits of a fictional Vietnam War squad made up of Pat Buchanan, Newt Gingrich, Phil Gramm, Dan Quayle, Clarence Thomas, George Will and of course, Rush Limbaugh (all who were of draft age during the Vietnam era yet did not serve in the conflict.) In the story, the cowardly and incompetent squad ultimately extricates itself from the battle by killing its gung-ho lieutenant, Oliver North (a Vietnam war veteran). In the update, those Republican Senators such as Coleman who are now refusing to enact policy changes during their term, will no doubt blame Bush after he leaves office for the mismanagement of the Iraq Civil War.