stop militarism now or the steps now being taken to reactivate the SSS are liable to result in people being drafted into military service; note US casualty rate for first Iraq war was 30%
The Selective Service System is getting ready to draft people for
military service, including young women.
Whether it happens depends on whether there is enough public pressure,
now, through the campaign, in the election, and afterward on whoever
gets control of the white house and congress. People of any age,
from little children to grandparents, can write letters to government
and media, join protests, tell their friends to do likewise, etc.
The Spanish people threw out their pro-war government, but the new
government's plan to withdraw their soldiers from Iraq increases the
shortage of US soldiers.
The number of US casualties from Iraq was between 11,000 and 22,000
for the year of 2003 and is higher now.
[ www.envirosagainstwar.org/edit/index.php?op=view&itemid=1107
http://bernie.house.gov/documents/articles/20040301115616.asp ]
The true toll may be significantly higher as there are reports commanders
have refused to evacuate sick soldiers, so they don't get counted.
The ultimate toll could be dramatically higher, given what has happened
with vets of the first Gulf War.
The number of US casualties from the first Gulf War is over 270,000,
a rate of about 30% of those who served
[ traprockpeace.org/gulfwarcasualties.html ,
traprockpeace.org/gulfcasualties.html ].
While the absolute numbers are of course smaller than WW I or WW II,
this is a higher casualty percentage than any US war since the Civil War,
and as the numbers are still rising, it could end up being the highest of all.
That's not the impression we got from mainstream media coverage, is it?
The US just carried out a coup in Haiti that overthrew elected president
Aristide, and has sent in US military forces to prevent the Haitian public
from fighting back.
[ www.haitiaction.net , Democracy Now ]
(Note: Bush was not elected by the American people, so Aristide has more
legitimacy than Bush does.) The US has threatened Iran, Syria, Venezuela,
and who knows how many other countries.
To keep this warmongering going, more cannon fodder (ie young people)
will be required.
The "war on terrorism" is a war without end, so younger children will
be affected when they come of age, if we allow this to continue.
At the same time election-year-conscious officials are publicly proclaiming
there are no plans to impose a draft, they are quietly taking steps to do
just that - after the election. Another possibility is to start with a draft
of just those with technical skills needed by the military. Medical expertise
will be of special interest given the rate of casualties, and a system to draft
health care personnel up to age 44 is already in place. The Selective Service
System is currently preparing to expand this to include those with computer
and foreign language skills.
[ SF Chronicle 2004/03/13 ]
Some say a draft may be a good thing, because it will make people realize
we can't just keep our heads in the sand while letting poor people be
sucked into doing the dirty work, but must get active to put a stop to the
aggressive militarism which not only threatens our young people but also
threatens world peace and ultimately threatens our security by turning more
and more of the rest of the world against us.
What you can do:
Connect with others working on these issues:
StopTheDraft
http://www.nyspc.net/home.html">National Youth and Student Peace Coalition
http://www.studentpeaceaction.org/">Student Peace Action Network
http://www.comdsd.org/">Committee Opposed to Militarism and the Draft
http://www.moveon.org/">moveon.org
http://www.BushDraft.com/">BushDraft.com
Join the big antiwar protest on Saturday March 20.
Events are happening in San Francisco & around the world:
http://www.InternationalANSWER.org http://www.notinourname.net
info@InternationalANSWER.org, SF: 510-444-6466 415-821-6545
LA: 213-487-2368 answer-la@action-mail.org
For info on prominent people in the media, government, etc who advocate
war to which others will be sent but declined to serve themselves, see:
http://www.nhgazette.com/chickenhawks.html
Write Congress and the media demanding that all these chickenhawks and their
children be drafted first, before there is a draft on the general public.
Get friendly people to join the Selective Service boards that decide
who gets exempted.
Feel free to spread the word by forwarding this.
misc.activism.progressive 13 Feb 2004
US Preparing for Military Draft in Spring 2005
by Adam Stutz
Vancouver IndyMedia - Wednesday January 28, 2004
http://www.vancouver.indymedia.org/news/2004/01/105146.php
If voters who currently support U.S. aggression abroad were confronted
with the possibility that their own children or grandchildren might
not have a say about whether to fight, many of these same voters might
have a change of mind. (Not that it should make a difference, but this
plan would among other things eliminate higher education as a shelter
and would not exclude women -- and Canada is no longer an option.)
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: http://www.sss.gov/perfplan_fy2004.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 this is
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.
http://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.
Become a Selective Service System Local Board Member
http://www.defendamerica.mil/articles/sss092203.html
Original: get active or get drafted