{"article":{"id":121006,"heading":"News on the Draft Issue","author":"Tom Kertes","created":"2005-01-12 07:47:13","modified":"2005-01-12 07:47:13","last_modified":"Wed, 12 Jan 2005 14:47:13","article":"

News on the Draft Issue from dailydraftdispatch.org<\/strong><\/p>\r\n

<\/strong><\/p>\r\n

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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