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US
Military Draft
11 April 2004 There is pending legislation in the
House and Senate (twin bills: S 89 and HR 163) which will time the
program's initiation so the draft can begin at early as Spring 2005 --
just after the 2004 presidential election. The administration is quietly
trying to get these bills passed now, while the public's attention is on
the elections, so our action on this is needed immediately. Details and
links follow.
Even those voters who currently support us. Actions abroad may
still object to this move, knowing their own children or grandchildren
will not have a say about whether to fight. Not that it should make a
difference, but this plan, among other things, eliminates higher
education as a shelter and includes women in the draft
Also, crossing into canada
has already been made very difficult. Educate Yourself.org
General Draft 2005
Appeal for draft board volunteers revives memories of
Vietnam
era.
The Pentagon has
begun recruiting for local draft boards, dredging up painful memories of Vietnam era conscription at a time of
deepening misgiving about America's
occupation of Iraq.
In a notice posted on the defence department's Defend America
website, Americans over the age of 18 and with no criminal record are
invited to "serve your community and the nation" by
volunteering for the boards, which decide which recruits should be sent
to war. Guardian News
As most point out, however, any mention of
conscription would be ill-advised before the 2004 election. "A
number of analysts said yesterday that while any public suggestion of a
draft would be politically suicidal for U.S. President George W. Bush in
an election year, he could find himself with few other options if he is
returned for a second term and the fighting in Iraq is still
raging," the Toronto Star recently reported. "I don't
think a presidential candidate would seriously propose a draft," the
Cato Institute's Charles Pena added. "But an incumbent, safely in
for a second term -- that might be a different story." Veterans for Peace
New signs of
discontent in the military
It is rumored that US military is
putting every one of it's soldiers on hold for approximately 2 months
before they can leave (especially those who served their country or their
time is up). It is also rumored that the US
government might reinstate the draft if there is a continuation of the US
military personnel leaving the Army (including not reenlisting, etc.)
“Stop-loss” orders prevent soldiers from leaving US Army
The new and broader “stop-loss” order just
invoked by the US Army on active, National Guard and reserve troops
currently deployed in the Middle East reflects growing Pentagon worries
over manpower shortages as the occupation of Iraq drags on and new
military adventures are considered in other parts of the world.
Last November 13, the army issued “stop-loss”
orders covering the 110,000 troops scheduled to be rotated into the
Middle East combat zone between now and May. As part of the massive troop
rotation, the army brass claim they need to hold on to experienced troops
in order to provide “continuity and consistency” among deployed units.
Because the stop-loss edict begins 90 days prior to deployment and lasts
for 90 days after returning home, the order means in effect that these
troops will be prohibited from leaving the army until at least the spring
of 2005.
Cnn News
Force
rotation
It suggests
just how strained the military is in trying to provide for the Iraqi
occupation plus all the other US obligations around the
world
Ted Carpenter, a defence analyst with
the Cato Institute think tank, said the stop loss decision went against
the concept of volunteer military service.
"Clearly, if large numbers of
personnel have their terms extended against their will, that violates the
principle of volunteerism," he said.
"It also
suggests just how strained the military is in trying to provide for the
Iraqi occupation plus all the other US obligations around the
world."
US military
overstretch
The Pentagon may command the most powerful military machine on
earth, but it still has insufficient troops to comfortably carry out all
of the missions assigned to it. BBC News
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© 2006 by St.Clair
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