Hidden Agenda: A National Draft in the Future?by Howard Dean, CommonDreams.org
A key issue for young Americans and their families to consider as they prepare to cast their votes in the upcoming presidential election is the real likelihood of a military draft being reinstated if Bush is re-[s]elected. Bush should tell us now whether he supports a military draft.
Here is the evidence that makes a draft likely:
-The U.S. Army has acknowledged that they are stretched thin and that finding new recruits is challenging. They recently placed 300 new recruiters in the field. Bonuses for new recruits to the Army have risen by 67 percent to a maximum of $10,000 and $15,000 for hard-to-fill specialties.
-The extended tours of duty have made service less attractive for both the regular armed forces, and particularly for the National Guard and Reserves. To meet this year's quota for enlistees, the Army has sped up the induction of "delayed entry" recruits, meaning they are already borrowing from next year's quotas in order to meet this year's numbers.
-Reservists are now being called away for longer periods. In 2003, Bush dramatically extended the length of time for the Guard and Reserves deployment in Iraq. Extended tours of up to a year have become common.
-In a further sign of a lack of adequate staffing, the armed forces are now in the process of calling up members of the Individual Ready Reserves. These are often older reservists usually waiting retirement. They are typically in their mid-to-late forties, and have not been on active duty and have not trained for some time. Traditionally, they are only supposed to be called up during a time of national emergency. In 2001, Bush authorized their call up but never rescinded this order even after he declared "Mission Accomplished" in Iraq in May of 2003.
(Click here to read the complete article.)
Regarding The Draft
Legislation has been proposed in the House and Senate (twin bills S89 and HR163) to reinstate the draft as early as June 15, 2005, to apply to both men and women ages 18 to 26 and college deferments will NOT be allowed.
$28
million dollars has been added to the 2004 Selective Service System and
the Pentagon has quietly begun a public campaign to fill all 10,350
draft board positions and the 11,070 appeals boards slots nationwide.
It appears that both John Kerry and the Bush administration support
this action, but you can have an impact by putting pressure on them and
by contacting your members of Congress.
Click here to email Senator Tom Harkin.
Click here to email Senator Chuck "I vote with the junta" Grassley.
Click here to email your Congressman.
More information on the draft is available at Common Dreams.