FWD: Help Stop the Reinstatement of the Draft!

[Boober_Gorg]

Matt, please excuse me for taking the words out of your mouth ...

Everyone,
I very rarely ever send out anything political, but this issue is one that will eventually affect everyone if it is left unchecked. Senate has a proposed two bills which, if instated, would essentially reestablish a mandatory military draft. HOWEVER, unlike the previous draft, this draft WILL NOT EXEMPT WOMEN OR COLLEGE STUDENTS. Escape to Canada is also NOT AN OPTION.

A draft such as this one will tear away the fabric that holds this nation together. Our best and brightest students will be forced from their studies to risk their lives, which will take hundreds of potentially powerful thinkers out of their fields. Women, the child bearers and lifeblood of our nation, will also be risking their lives. The potentially crippling affects of this draft are staggering.

All I ask is to spread the word. Whenever these bills come up, SHOOT THEM DOWN. The government must know that we, the people of the United States, are NOT SATISFIED with these propositions!! Stay informed, and if you are able to vote, make your voice heard.

Here are links to related information:
- http://www.congress.org/congressorg/issues/alert/?alertid=5834001&content_dir=ua_congressorg

(Within that article, a link to the official page regarding the bills is not active.*Here is a link to that page: http://www.hslda.org/Legislation/National/2003/S89/default.asp)

-Matt (Future College Student or Draftee)

 

[Don'tLiveonMoon]

I think a reinstatement of the draft, especially under those harsher restrictions, would be horrible. If you want to volunteer for the armed forces, that's great, but I think just blindly sending over whoever's number comes up is cruel and wasteful. A lot of people simply are not cut out for it. I know it was a part of our country before, but I think forcing that on anyone is wrong. I don't think mandatory service to the country is a bad idea if you're given a wide range of options to choose from, including plenty of non-combative positions. Like if your number came up you could join the army or volunteer a certain amount of time in a local VA hospital, etc. But I am very much against a regular re-instatement of the draft.
Erin

 

[Buck-Beaver]

This has been quietly underway for months, but I don't think anyone expects it be pushed publically by the White House until (conviently enough) after the election. The problem I think is that U.S. troops and reservists are maxed out and no U.S. allies are willing to commit additional troops to Iraq (and many are pulling out).

I do think that mandatory military service (or some sort of social equivlent) is not a bad idea in principal...many countries do this and it works well. HOWEVER if you're going to have compulsatory military service the government must be committed to using that military in a responsible manner (i.e. peacekeeping and internationally sanctioned missions). Regardless of whether you were for or against the war in Iraq I think the fallout makes it pretty clear to any rational person that entrusting this particular administration in the U.S. with that kind of responsibility is a very, very bad idea.

 

[Super Scooter]

I'd like to paraphrase a friend of a friend of mine...

"This type of thing should be STRICTLY volunteer work... I don't think any man or woman with their own family (refering to wife, children) should even think of joining. Those people shouldn't risk their lives, when they have several lives right close to them that need caring for. It's an emotional strain on everyone then."

If the draft is reinstated, do you realize how many fatherless (and/or motherless) children there would be? How many widows and widowers?

I'm not just in this for my own neck (who will be turning 18 shortly after this is put into effect). I wouldn't be able to get drafted anyway because of health problems. Even still, I know what I'd be doing. They could send me to jail before I'd do that. I would not kill another person, no matter who they are. And I've recently found someone who actually cares about me. I've hurt her enough in the past, what would happen if I were gone?

Is there some petition thing to take this out?

 

[McFraggle]

I'd like to paraphrase a friend of a friend of mine...

"This type of thing should be STRICTLY volunteer work... I don't think any man or woman with their own family (refering to wife, children) should even think of joining. Those people shouldn't risk their lives, when they have several lives right close to them that need caring for. It's an emotional strain on everyone then."

If the draft is reinstated, do you realize how many fatherless (and/or motherless) children there would be? How many widows and widowers?

I'm not just in this for my own neck (who will be turning 18 shortly after this is put into effect). I wouldn't be able to get drafted anyway because of health problems. Even still, I know what I'd be doing. They could send me to jail before I'd do that. I would not kill another person, no matter who they are. And I've recently found someone who actually cares about me. I've hurt her enough in the past, what would happen if I were gone?

Is there some petition thing to take this out?

Well said.

 

[anathema]

http://www.snopes.com/politics/military/draft.asp

 

[Con Von Count]

Here's another article on the subject.

The Draft
by Adam Stutz
Project Censored - Censored Alert, Winter 2004

$28 million has been added to the 2004 Selective Service System (SSS) budget to prepare for a military draft that could start as early as June 15, 2005. SSS must report to Bush on March 31, 2005 that the system, which has lain dormant for decades, is ready for activation. Please see website: www.sss.gov/perfplanfy2004.html to view the SSS Annual Performance Plan - Fiscal Year 2004.

The Pentagon has quietly begun a public campaign to fill all 10,350 draft board positions and 11,070 appeals board slots nationwide.. Though an unpopular election year topic, military experts and influential members of Congress are suggesting that if Rumsfeld's prediction of a "long, hard slog" in Iraq and Afghanistan [and a permanent state of war on "terrorism"] proves accurate, the U.S. may have no choice but to draft. www.informationclearinghouse.info/article5146.htm

Congress brought twin bills, S. 89 and H.R. 163 forward this year, entitled the Universal National Service Act of 2003, "To provide for the common defense by requiring that all young persons [age 18-26] in the United States, including women, perform a period of military service or a period of civilian service in furtherance of the national defense and homeland security, and for other purposes." These active bills currently sit in the Committee on Armed Services.

Dodging the draft will be more difficult than those from the Vietnam era remember. College and Canada will not be options. In December 2001, Canada and the US signed a "Smart Border Declaration," which could be used to keep would-be draft dodgers in. Signed by Canada's Minister of Foreign Affairs, John Manley, and US Homeland Security Director, Gov. Tom Ridge, the declaration involves a 30-point plan which implements, among other things, a "pre-clearance agreement" of people entering and departing each country. Reforms aimed at making the draft more equitable along gender and class lines also eliminates higher education as a shelter. Underclassmen would only be able to postpone service until the end of their current semester. Seniors would have until the end of the academic year.

The first link doesen't work.

Source

 

[Con Von Count]

I think the best way to spread the information is to post it in as many places as you can. I've posted (the one I placed here) on Amazon, Indymedia.org, and on this forum for a website called Che-Lives.

Also, you can start a forwarding chain by email.

 

[Boober_Gorg]

Upon further research, I'm starting to become skeptical about this issue. I was the one who sent the congress.org link to Snopes, and it seems like they're more in touch with what's happening. Plus, the whole address that Adam Stutz wrote is dated January 2004, and these recent articles are denying those notions that have been spread around, which makes Stutz's words outdated.

Posted on Fri, Apr. 23, 2004

Pentagon denies need to revive military draft
By Dana Hull
San Jose Mercury News

An Internet-driven rumor mill about the possible return of a military draft is forcing Pentagon officials to step up denials that such plans are in the works.

Thursday, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said he didn't know of anyone in the executive branch who believes it would be necessary to reinstitute the draft.

``We have been very successful in recruiting and retaining the people we need,'' Rumsfeld told the Newspaper Association of America's annual convention in Washington, D.C. ``There were a lot of difficulties with the draft, as people may recall.''

But an avalanche of bad news in Iraq has left many, including members of Congress, unconvinced. April has been the deadliest month for U.S. soldiers since the war began, Spain is preparing to withdraw its troops, and at least 20,000 soldiers have had their deployments extended -- facts that have fueled a growing barrage of myths, rumors and conspiracy theories via e-mails and Web postings.

Sophie Lapaire, a Mountain View engineering manager, doesn't have any teenage sons. But she's convinced the government is planning to bring back the draft, and feels it's important to speak out against the possibility.

E-mail campaign

Last month, she sent an e-mail to a few friends, urging them to contact their congressional representatives. It has now boomeranged across the Web, and Lapaire has received replies from around the country.

``I'm worried that a draft is already in the works, and it isn't being communicated,'' said Lapaire. ``It should not be sneaked up on people.''

In Los Angeles, Aaron Russo, a Libertarian candidate for president, is asking supporters to sign an online petition to ``Stop the coming military draft before it starts.''

And a host of national anti-war organizations, from Veterans for Peace to Pax Christi USA, have deemed May 14 a ``Lobby Day Against the Military Draft.''

The Defense Department has repeatedly insisted this week that it does not want -- or need -- mandatory military service. From 1948 until 1973, in peacetime as well as the Vietnam War era, young men were drafted to fill vacancies in the armed forces that could not be filled with volunteers.

``Everyone is saying: `The draft is coming. The draft is coming,' '' said Dan Mamon, a media liaison for the Selective Service, which denies draft plans on the home page of its Web site. ``It's not true. Our budget has been flat-lined again for the third year in a row. The last person drafted was in June of 1973, and most will recall that that was a very disruptive and chaotic period.''

The draft debate began in earnest last spring, before the war with Iraq began. Democratic Rep. Charles Rangel of New York and others pointed out that poor people and members of minority groups are disproportionately represented in combat. Although the military is a volunteer force, many people enlist because they can't afford to go to college or see no other job opportunities. Rangel and Sen. Fritz Hollings of South Carolina have introduced bills to revive the draft, but no action has been taken on them.

In recent weeks, other members of Congress have brought up the idea of reviving some form of mandatory service. Tuesday, Republican Sen. Chuck Hagel of Nebraska told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that he wants the United States to consider reviving the draft as part of a broader effort to ensure that all Americans ``bear some responsibility'' in defending the nation's interests.

But the idea of mandatory military service has been soundly rejected by conservatives as well as many liberals, not to mention the Pentagon.

``We are absolutely pleased with an exceedingly outstanding all-volunteer force,'' said Lt. Jane Campbell, a press officer for the Department of Defense. ``That is the basis of your military and has been for more than 30 years. An all-volunteer force is superior to draft or conscription, and it gives us a military that is experienced, smart, disciplined and, most importantly, made up of people who represent America.''

Misgivings persist

Some critics aren't so sure. Two active-duty U.S. soldiers who did not want to serve in Iraq have fled to Toronto, and the violence in Iraq shows little sign of abating.

``The Pentagon might change their mind,'' said Rep. Pete Stark, whose 13th congressional district includes Fremont. ``I can't understand why anyone would sign up for the reserves or the National Guard again, so it could very well be that they'll need a draft to supplement their numbers. In spite of what Rumsfeld says, they might need it.''

And then more recently, there's this:

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/04145/321235.stm

 

[Con Von Count]

That news is a bit comforting

In that case I hope they are being honest, the government has enough government has committed enough immoral acts without the country's people having to worry about a draft ^.^