News on the Draft Issue

by Tom Kertes Wednesday, Jan. 12, 2005 at 7:47 AM
tom@liberationlearning.org

Links to a number of recent news stories on the draft issue. Includes information related to all of the drafts: poverty draft, youth draft, skilled worker draft and backdoor draft.

News on the Draft Issue from dailydraftdispatch.org

Bob Herbert: The scent of failure The assembly line of carnage in George W. Bush's war in Iraq continues unabated. Nightmares don't last this long, so the death and destruction must be real. You know you're in serious trouble when the politicians and the military brass don't even bother suggesting that there's light at the end of the tunnel. The only thing ahead is a deep and murderous darkness.

Over 5,500 soldiers don't show up for occupation duty But not all young people are eager to die for Mr. Bush. Military recruiters are having difficulty finding enough cannon fodder to fill their quotas. More significantly, men and women already in uniform are rebelling. They're refusing to fight for Mr. Bush and his secret ambitions. They're deserting by the thousands. According to "60 Minutes" last week (quoting the Pentagon), more than 5,500 servicemen have deserted since the beginning of Mr. Bush's war.

Military recruiters find reluctance over combat hinders duty "This morning I had a mom laugh at me and hang up the phone," [the Marine recruiter] said. For Marine recruiters, and their Army and Army National Guard counterparts to an even greater extent, these are challenging times and represent the first test of the all-volunteer military since the draft ended in 1973.

Reservists May Face Longer Tours of Duty To avoid pushing reserve forces to the breaking point, the official also said, a temporary increase of 30,000 troops in active-duty ranks that was authorized last year will probably need to be made permanent, especially if U.S. troop levels in Iraq remain high. He said significant troop levels may be required in Iraq for four or five more years.

Bring back the draft - with options Since Bush does not have to face re-election, and since the Army is strapped for manpower, it is a given that the draft will return in his second term. Since half the population (of voters) voted against Bush, and his Iraq war, it's safe to assume there would be plenty of marches, even riots, when the draft would return.

Without draft, occupation should be terminated Mr. Scowcroft appeared at the New America Foundation with Zbigniew Brzezinski, Jimmy Carter's national security adviser, who declared the Iraq war a moral, political and military failure. If we can't send 500,000 troops, spend 0 billion and agree to resume the draft, then the conflict should be "terminated," he said, adding that far from the Jeffersonian democracy Mr. Bush extols, the most we can hope for is a Shiite-controlled theocracy.

Homeless Veterans: Soldiers Go From Fighting in Iraq to Fighting A New War At Home Now, with the occupation of Iraq and some 150,000 troops deployed there and thousands more who have returned, a new generation of soldiers are facing the same realities experienced by their colleagues who fought in Vietnam and in other conflicts. Some of them are suffering from the effects of depleted uranium; others from posttraumatic stress disorder or mental illness sparked by their time in the zone of combat. Others find they have no place to live.

War-resister says comrades killed civilians A former Marine on the front lines of Iraq, a witness for an American seeking to become the first U.S. service member granted asylum in Canada, said Wednesday several men in his unit were “psychopaths” who enjoyed killing unarmed Iraqi civilians who posed no threat.

Soldier has cousin shoot him in leg to avoid occupation duty Take Army Spec. Marquise J. Roberts of Hinesville, Ga. He had served seven months in Iraq, returned home, and then was scheduled for redeployment there. While on a visit to family members in Philadelphia, he allegedly persuaded a cousin to shoot him in the leg so he could avoid going back to Iraq.

U.S. Army Reserve Becoming "Broken Force" Faced with lengthy and grueling deployments in Iraq and Afghanistan, the U.S. Army reserve is rapidly turning into “a broken force” and may not be able to meet its operational requirements in the future, its commander acknowledged in a memorandum made public late Jan. 5.

Brethren Agree to Revive 'Alternative Service' Draft Programs Leaders of the Church of the Brethren say they will follow through on a request from the Selective Service to have "alternative service" programs in place for conscientious objectors if a draft is reinstated.

DOD Notice: Serve Your Community and the Nation - Become a Selective Service System Local Board Member The Selective Service System wants to hear from men and women in the community who might be willing to serve as members of a local draft board. (September, 2003)

Original: News on the Draft Issue