In the US: Our Children Will Be Subjected to Selective Service Very Soon

gespro

Has this been discussed already? If it has, please point me to the thread addressing this

I just heard this last night. The wheels are in motion. $28 million set aside for starting the new draft AND there will be NO running to Canada because of an agreement signed. Canada will ship them back to the states. If they are in school and they qualify, they will be allowed to finish the semester and then off to war.

SO, who's going to Belgium with me?

g

Pleasuredome

have you only just found out?

gespro

Yeah-

I'm pretty slow huh

lol

blondie

Besides this site:

http://www.sss.gov/

http://www.commondreams.org/headlines04/0413-04.htm

Published on Tuesday, April 13, 2004 by the Washington Times

Nader Tells Youths to Brace for Draft

by Steve Miller

Presidential candidate Ralph Nader this weekend warned his constituents that a military draft is pending, and asked younger voters to prepare.

The independent candidate noted that the federal government is filling seats on local draft boards as preparation for a reinstatement of the draft, which was eliminated in 1973.

"The Pentagon is quietly recruiting new members to fill local draft boards, as the machinery for drafting a new generation of young Americans is being quietly put into place," Mr. Nader said in a press release sent out to constituents and posted on his Web site during the weekend.

"Young Americans need to know that a train is coming, and it could run over their generation in the same way that the Vietnam War devastated the lives of those who came of age in the sixties."

Kevin Zeese, a spokesman for the Nader campaign, said draft boards are being rebuilt "right now" and that the demands on the U.S. military are growing.

"I don't think that Ralph feels that the draft is imminent, but we are looking at the shortage of troops in Iraq and the calls from [Senator John] Kerry for 40,000 more troops. What Ralph is saying is that if students don't start to organize right now, it will be too late," Mr. Zeese said

Rumors of a draft reinstatement emerged in the fall when the Selective Service announced that it was recruiting members for the nation's 2,000 local draft and appeals boards. A Selective Service spokesman said yesterday that the announcement was made to help fill spots on the boards, as many members' 20-year terms ended

"It was misread then," said the spokesman, Pat Schuback. "Their terms are expiring right now, and that's what is going on."

"We're prepared to do our jobs here if needed," he said. "And it is important for us to be ready. The administration has been very clear about wanting to keep this volunteer, and we understand that. We let the politicians do the politics."

He noted that Selective Service, a branch of the Justice Department, has seen personnel numbers drop recently. The agency went from 166 full-time staffers in fiscal 2003 to 156 this year

Another third-party candidate, Libertarian Aaron Russo, has joined Mr. Nader in warning Americans that a draft is a real possibility, despite denials from all quarters of the Bush administration.

Mr. Russo, one of three front-runners vying for the Libertarian nomination, said at a party forum in Virginia last month that "the draft is a bipartisan effort between Republicans and Democrats that will start after the 2004 presidential election, for obvious reasons," a prediction he repeats on his campaign Web site.

It would take legislative action by Congress to reinstate the draft, which was ended in 1973, about two months before the last U.S. troops were withdrawn from Vietnam. Registration with the Selective Service was halted from 1975 to 1980, but was reinstated under President Carter after Russia invaded Afghanistan.

A bill was drafted by South Carolina Sen. Ernest F. Hollings in January 2003, putting in place the parameters for a draft. Its House companion legislation was introduced simultaneously by New York Rep. Charles B. Rangel. Both lawmakers are Democrats.

The bills have gone nowhere, though, and nothing is expected to come from them.

Young men today are still required to register with the Selective Service within 30 days of their 18th birthdays. There are 15 million men ages 18 to 25 registered with the agency.

http://www.missoulian.com/articles/2004/04/14/opinion/opinion4.txt

War should be equal-opportunity affair - Wednesday, April 14, 2004

SUMMARY: Talk of draft likely is political, but it does highlight a sexist quirk in Selective Service rules.

With violence flaring in Iraq, the head of U.S. forces there is asking the Pentagon for reinforcements. The request isn't for a lot of additional troops - two brigades, maybe 10,000 troops - but it doesn't follow the script. The Pentagon had been talking about reducing troop strength in Iraq through the spring, leading up to the June 30 transfer of sovereignty back to the Iraqis. Last week, the military told some troops preparing to leave Iraq that their services there are still needed, and now the generals are talking about ratcheting up manpower.

Meanwhile, prospects remain uncertain for help from other countries. Spain, of course, is threatening to withdraw its troops. The recent surge of fighting and hostage-taking isn't playing well among some of our other allies. The play book calls for Iraqi's reconstituted military and police to take on increasing responsibilities for ensuring security for Iraqis. But, as reported in this week's Los Angeles Times, Gen. John Abizaid, the commander of U.S. forces in Iraq, considers Iraqi security forces to be a "great disappointment."

And, of course, with some U.S. forces already on their second tour since the war began and some National Guard and Reserves grumbling about the amount of active duty they're seeing, prospects for an extended occupation of Iraq raises questions about wear and tear on our troops.

All of this fuels talk of reinstituting the draft.

Now, don't get excited. It's an election year. Critics of President Bush are eager to talk about drafting people into the military largely because they have a good idea it'll rile voters. The Bush administration has been pretty adamant about not asking Congress to authorize the draft, which lawmakers eliminated in 1973. And the military wants no part of a draft. It still remembers what it was like trying to fight wars with conscripts and vastly prefers today's all-volunteer force. There are bills in Congress to reinstitute the draft, but they were introduced by Democrats who opposed the war in the first place.

Still, it's interesting to note that the Selective Service System last fall recruited new members for draft boards and, according to the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, has begun planning for a possible "selective draft" of people with special, high-demand skills, such as computers, languages and medical skills.

And all of this brings us to the matter of discrimination. All American males are required to register with Selective Service on their 18th birthday. Even though the draft doesn't exist, the registration requirement was reinstituted in 1980 and has been in place ever since. The government registers only men, even though women play an important role in today's military. The men-only policy is rooted in American squeamishness about sending women into combat - a squeamishness that clearly has diminished in this war.

Expect to hear more about the draft in the weeks and months ahead, but don't look for a new draft to start anytime soon. It surely would be a last resort, right down there with beating a hasty retreat. But as the topic arises, perhaps we should talk about fixing that sexist quirk in the nation's registration requirements. If we're going to ask some young people to register for a possible draft, we should ask them all.

berten

>...SO, who's going to Belgium with me?

Why Belgium?

grows1

I wonder how many Senators, Congressmans , Dept of Defense, Prez, VP and other high gov officials kids and grandkids will get exemptions? Very few served in Vietnam. I only know of 1 Repub Congressman's (from Tex)kid who is serving in Iraq. They sure like to send our kids off to war but very few of their own ever serve. If it is reinstituted there should not be any exemptions for college students, or women. Also, medical exemption should be limited to the severly disabled- all others should and could serve in support (non combat) roles supporting the fighting troops (This could be used to draft all of those kids with phony excuses bigwigs buy for their kids )- and the gov officials kids should be first up for the pick and should fill ALL combat and support positions 1st- then the rest of our kids would be called up- this should become the law of the land. How many wars do you think we'd be in then??????

Big Tex

Notwithstanding recent stories in the news media and on the Internet, Selective Service is not getting ready to conduct a draft for the U.S. Armed Forces -- either with a special skills or regular draft. Rather, the Agency remains prepared to manage a draft if and when the President and the Congress so direct. This responsibility has been ongoing since 1980 and is nothing new. Further, both the President and the Secretary of Defense have stated on more than one occasion that there is no need for a draft for the War on Terrorism or any likely contingency, such as Iraq. Additionally, the Congress has not acted on any proposed legislation to reinstate a draft. Therefore, Selective Service continues to refine its plans to be prepared as is required by law, and to register young men who are ages 18 through 25.

http://www.sss.gov/