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new articles from today
http://www.sanluisobispo.com/mld/sa...ics/8853540.htm <- this one is the reassuring one.
http://bellaciao.org/en/article.php3?id_article=1258 <- this one is not.
taken from the first article:
| quote: | Selective Service spokesman Pat Schuback said top officials of his agency have discussed including women in a draft of medical specialists with key job skills. But that would require congressional action and a change in the law.
In one clear sign of the draft's improbability, Schuback said his agency's budget has been flat for the past several years and personnel and operations have been cut back.
"If they were bringing back the draft, this would be a stupid time to do it," he said.
Lt. Col. Franklin Childress, spokesman for the Army's personnel branch, said he knew of no change in the Defense Department's policy of maintaining an all-volunteer military.
"We haven't done any preparations for a draft," he said, "and wouldn't unless the Congress debated the issue and called for it."
He added, however, "You never know what's going to happen in the future."
Asked at a Pentagon town meeting with military personnel last month if there would be a draft after the election, Rumsfeld replied: "I don't think so.
"We don't need a draft," he added. "We're able to attract and retain all the people we need. ... We can recruit, we can retain, if we pay people what they're worth. And we're doing it. And we've got a wonderful force because of it. So I can't imagine that this country would go back to a draft."
But with combat in Iraq and Afghanistan for the foreseeable future, the U.S. military - especially the Army - is becoming strained.
To maintain troop strength in Iraq at 138,000, the Pentagon is extending the tours of duty for soldiers in Iraq and warning that once deployed, soldiers may be required to stay with their units up to 18 months past the scheduled end of their service.
The Pentagon is withdrawing forces from South Korea to bolster the forces in Iraq, and the Army Reserve has asked the Internal Revenue Service to help track down 50,000 members of its Individual Ready Reserve who have failed to report changes of address.
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taken from the second article:
| quote: | Most of those who have signed on to support the bill are members of the Congressional Black Caucus. However, Rangel and the bill’s co-sponsors contend, as Rangel puts it: “Those who love this country have a patriotic obligation to defend this country. For those who say the poor fight better, I say give the rich a chance.”
Rangel said primarily the poor and minorities are serving in Iraq, getting wounded and killed.
Under the bill, the draft would apply to men and women ages 18 to 26, the 20-year-olds being taken first, with exemptions to allow people to graduate from high school. But college students would have to serve, unlike during the Vietnam War, when attending college was a stay-home pass.
SHOULDER THE BURDEN
In the Senate a companion bill, S. 89, has been introduced by Sen. Ernest F. “Fritz” Hollings (D-S.C.), which has been referred to the Committee on Armed Services.
Said Hollings: “We all share the benefits of life in America, and under this plan, we all help shoulder the burden of defending our freedoms. Our proposal ensures that all Americans answer the call of duty. High school students could be deferred until they graduate, but in no case will that deferment extend beyond the age of 20. As we fight this war on terrorism and protect our way of life, we must once again listen to the words of President John F. Kennedy, who implored us to ‘ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country’.”
Army commanders in Iraq want more troops to combat the growing guerrilla war that is engulfing the country and causing daily deaths among U.S. troops.
Even Republican members of the Senate are beginning to talk about a draft being needed to fill manpower gaps.
“Why shouldn’t we ask all of our citizens to bear some responsibility and pay some price?” said Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-Neb.) at a recent Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing. His comments came just after the Pentagon moved to extend the missions of some 20,000 of the 134,000 troops in Iraq.
Hagel said that restoring the draft would force “our citizens to understand the intensity and depth of challenges we face.”
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___________________
www.rachelrossos.com
My debut CD: www.cdbaby.com/rachelrossos <--- Now available on iTunes!
www.myspace.com/rachelrossos
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certainly not for his musical contribution to the club scene 
proof that they ARE reinstating the Draft.
