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A military draft is getting closer
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| FuzzyGreen |
Sens. Clinton, Graham call for larger U.S. military
Former political foes strike an alliance
Monday, May 24, 2004 Posted: 8:10 AM EDT (1210 GMT)
Democrat Hillary Rodham Clinton and Republican Lindsey Graham agree the
U.S. needs a larger military.
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- An unlikely pair of Senate allies called for a
larger military Sunday and pledged a thorough investigation of abuse
against Iraqi prisoners in Baghdad.
Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-New York, and Lindsey Graham, R-South
Carolina, are both members of the Senate's Armed Services Committee.
"A number of us have been sounding this alarm. We have to face the fact
we need a larger active-duty military," Clinton told the television show
"Fox News Sunday."
"We cannot continue to stretch our troops, both active-duty, Guard and
Reserve, to the breaking point, which is what we're doing now."
Graham said the United States is "putting too much pressure on the men
and women in uniform."
"We need more of them, sooner rather than later," he said.
The senators acknowledged that an increase in the size of the military
would be an expensive venture... |
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| smokeape |
No military draft is coming unless Korea or Taiwan ignites at the moment. The military is currently meeting recruiting goals.
:p
[[[smoke]]] |
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| PHALPAX |
| The House majority leader Tom Delay has said that a military draft resolution has "no chance" of passing through the House. Also, the Pentagon and current administration is against and will not allow the draft to be reinstated mostly to do with money, quality of soldiers, and social and political backlash. |
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| Q5echo |
| quote: | | Democrat Hillary Rodham Clinton and Republican Lindsey Graham agree the U.S. needs a larger military. |
read this^...and then shat myself ROFL:haha: |
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| BadBadNeil |
| If it ever passes her daughter better be on the front lines. |
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| Moongoose |
| I wonder how many people would still be eager for war if there was a chance that they or their children might be drafted and sent back in a coffin. |
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| MisterOpus1 |
Hillary mentioning that we need a bigger military does not equate to her support for a draft, but I could be wrong (that is, if she specifically said she supports a draft). I think she's just mentioning the obvious that our military is stretched too thin, and that the current war certainly did not help out this situation much.
The political consensus is that a draft would be extremely unpopular to the public, esp. since a growing number of people do not support this war and question why we went in the first place. Personally I think the most viable means of increasing the number of servicemen and women is to offer more incentives - increase of pay, more tuition reimbursement, better career placement after service, G.I. Bill after times of war, better veterans benefits (or at least protect the benefits from being cut), and so forth. I dunno, just a few thoughts. |
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| Galapidate |
| quote: | 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.
$28 million has been added to the 2004 Selective Service System (SSS) budget to prepare for a military draft that could start as early as June 15, 2005. Selective Service must report to Bush on March 31, 2005 that the system, which has lain dormant for decades, is ready for activation. Please see website: www.sss.gov/perfplan_fy2004.html to view the sss annual performance plan - fiscal year 2004.
The pentagon has quietly begun a public campaign to fill all 10,350 draft board positions and 11,070 appeals board slots nationwide.. Though this is an unpopular election year topic, military experts and influential members of congress are suggesting that if Rumsfeld's prediction of a "long, hard slog" in Iraq and Afghanistan [and a permanent state of war on "terrorism"] proves accurate, the U.S. may have no choice but to draft.
Congress brought twin bills, S. 89 and HR 163 forward this year, http://www.hslda.org/legislation/na...s89/default.asp entitled the Universal National Service Act of 2003, "to provide for the common defense by requiring that all young persons [age 18--26] in the United States, including women, perform a period of military service or a period of civilian service in furtherance of the national defense and homeland security, and for other purposes." These active bills currently sit in the committee on armed services.
Dodging the draft will be more difficult than those from the Vietnam era.
College and Canada will not be options. In December 2001, Canada and the U.S. signed a "smart border declaration," which could be used to keep would-be draft dodgers in. Signed by Canada's minister of foreign affairs, John Manley, and U.S. Homeland Security director, Tom Ridge, the declaration involves a 30-point plan which implements, among other things, a "pre-clearance agreement" of people entering and departing each country. Reforms aimed at making the draft more equitable along gender and class lines also eliminates higher education as a shelter. Underclassmen would only be able to postpone service until the end of their current semester. Seniors would have until the end of the academic year.
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.
The public has a right to air their opinions about such an important decision.
Please send this on to all the friends, parents, aunts and uncles, grandparents, and cousins that you know. Let your children know too -- it's their future, and they can be a powerful voice for change!
Please also contact your representatives to ask them why they aren't telling their constituents about these bills -- and contact newspapers and other media outlets to ask them why they're not covering this important story.
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http://www.congress.org/congressorg...=ua_congressorg
:nervous: :nervous: |
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| abdul |
| quote: | Originally posted by smokeape
No military draft is coming unless Korea or Taiwan ignites at the moment. The military is currently meeting recruiting goals.
:p
[[[smoke]]] |
or china:disbelief |
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| PHALPAX |
This is unlikely to pass; it was mostly started by anti-war democrats. Both house majority leaders have said they're are against such legislation and the executive branch is against this as well. Also, the bills have been brushed aside and overlooked by both of the armed services committees. |
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| PHALPAX |
| quote: | Originally posted by abdul
or china:disbelief |
read Friedman's McDonalds theory of conflict prevention. |
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| ogvh5150 |
| Bet you Chelsea Clinton isn't going to get drafted. And if she does she won't see a frontline. |
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