Call from Afghanistan-

Just got off the phone from Afghanistan-
Trust me- the draft is coming.
Media, contact me by PM- there is a
chance that someone will give you
an anonymous interview in the coming weeks.
BHN

It is quite clear it is coming

The person I talked to tonight tells me that they have NO
news about the torture pics or the 911 investigation.
Told this person I would forward news-
The troops have NO idea what has been going on-
have heard nothing about the 911 commision hearings
or the ME outrage over the prison pics-
Please post the links to news you think they
need to know- I will pass them on.
BHN

THANKS!
BHN

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=109x8317

:hug:

and yes my husband just retired from the Navy, his last deployment I was keeping them informed, but they still got a NYT digest...

And yes my feeling is that we will get the draft BEFORE the election... mostly no choice, we have no troops... bush has literally destroyed the Army, and the Navy is not that far behind... I think the USMC are the best off, so far, but they are neck in neck with the Air Force.

Reserves and National Guard-
the person I have spoken with confirms
that many are 17 years old and have NO training!
Will be released from duty by 2005, by law,
therefore the draft.
BHN

You can't join unless you're 18 by law. 17 with parental consent. 17 years old isn't possible. That many parents would never have signed.

You can't vote, definitely can't drink, but you can at 17, sign that you promise to sign up at 18. How immoral is it to hold someone responsible for a document they signed as a minor? The US military does it all the time.

We're one of the 2 countries that refuses to sign the UN ban on child soldiers. I think the other country is Somalia.

The US. Left behind once again! Holding out on YET another treaty.

and even if they are seventeen when they joined, they still need some bootcamp, nine weeks, and ideally an A-School.

Now reality is that a large percentage of the guard will not re-up, but rumors are running that they will have to get the draft going before the election... this is how bad things are.

We all know of the Third ID (some are still in Iraq), but the Tenth Mountain has been in Afghanistan longer in fact... and the Special Forces are not 17... they are regular army (or Navy), and due to the A schools, we are talking at lesat 19... even if joined at 17 and went directly (which is rare) to the Spec Ops community

people who are literally 17- plucked
within WEEKS of signing up and shipped over.
That is how depleted the troops are.
I don't want to reveal too much about
what he is doing there, but he sees
the paperwork on everyone.
He says there are kids there who were in
high school minutes before they landed
there! He is TOTALLY digusted with
everything he is witnessing- says the
people back here have NO idea
what is going on, that if they did
they would freak out.
BHN

Unbelievable!

The troops won't have any idea what hit them.

not at all...

as a soldier, I would want to know. Might even keep me out of trouble because right now they're walking through land-mine. Just look at someone the wrong way, take a wrong turn and that could be it. No more pity. No more sending US hostages back.

the torture in Iraq I can even understand, due to moral concerns

the 9.11 commision will back fire as troops will assume worst case

about the news reports-especially that
the pictures had been seen in the ME.
Said it was common knowledge that abuse
of prsioners was rampant, but that photos
would ENRAGE them further, that all hell
was gonna break loose, that the photos I described
to him were beyond offensive especially in
the context of the people's faith.
BHN

Saturday, May 1, 2004

Selective Service eyes women's draft
The proposal would also require registration of critical skills

By ERIC ROSENBERG
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER WASHINGTON BUREAU

WASHINGTON -- The chief of the Selective Service System has proposed registering women for the military draft and requiring that young Americans regularly inform the government about whether they have training in niche specialties needed in the armed services.

The proposal, which the agency's acting Director Lewis Brodsky presented to senior Pentagon officials just before the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, also seeks to extend the age of draft registration to 34 years old, up from 25.

The Selective Service System plan, obtained under the Freedom of Information Act, highlights the extent to which agency officials have planned for an expanded military draft in case the administration and Congress would authorize one in the future.

"In line with today's needs, the Selective Service System's structure, programs and activities should be re-engineered toward maintaining a national inventory of American men and, for the first time, women, ages 18 through 34, with an added focus on identifying individuals with critical skills," the agency said in a Feb. 11, 2003, proposal presented to senior Pentagon officials.

<snip>

Some of the skill areas where the armed forces are facing "critical shortages" include linguists and computer specialists, the agency said. Americans would then be required to regularly update the agency on their skills until they reach age 35.

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/171522_draft01.html

The Selective Service System plan, obtained under the Freedom of Information Act, highlights the extent to which agency officials have planned for an expanded military draft in case the administration and Congress would authorize one in the future.

___________________

they have planned, they have not done any of this planning for ten years... read between the lines

Oh and it is not selling Congress on a female draft, it is selling the American people... and suddenly Jessica Lynch makes even more sense and they are probably kicking themsselves over that she contradicted them. She was the perfect symbol, until she contradicted them

The rest of the country will take to the streets.

We may see the Freepers on patrol on Fallujah...

Hey even a dark cloud has a light to it

I'm curious because someone I know (a career guy) got pulled out of Falljua about a week ago and redeployed to Afghanistan. Seemed like odd timing to me, since we need more troops in Iraq, not less and this was before we gave Falluja back to Saddam's people.

He says that the majority of fighting is happening
in Pakistan-was surprised that I did not know about it.
Apparently they are not reporting what is happening
there. He said Afghanistan is fairly quiet, by hell
is raging next door.
BHN

On edit- maybe they are blacking out what
is going on in Pakistan because it would reveal
what a total cluster-fuck the entire region has
become for the US troops?

about Shawal, Pakistan. Supposedly the US now thinks there are three high value targets there. Also, I saw a report in the Dawn last week, that US Troops were going door to door with the Pakistani troops, passing out literature and trying to convince the war lords to help them out. Seemed we were testing the waters of conducting joint operations of the Pakistan side of the border. That should go over like a lead balloon in Pakistan.


http://www.atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/FE01Df04.html

SHAWAL, Pakistan - A star shines crystal-clear in the pitch black sky over the mud fort of the chief of the Shawl tribes. But the people in this remote region in the Federally Administered Tribal Region of North Waziristan in Pakistan, 9,000 feet above sea level, are not impressed: they are convinced that the star is in fact a US satellite, and that it's keeping a beady eye on them in preparation for the next battle.

<snip>

An accompanying friend from the area explained: "Things are getting serious here. Zarma Jan is in deep trouble as Islamabad has demanded that he either produce some wanted tribesmen who are believed to be sheltering Taliban and al-Qaeda people, and who are also believed to have been involved in the killing of a major of the Pakistan army, or produce himself for arrest."

United States authorities are convinced that at least three important "high value targets" are holed up in the Shawal area. However, the "Shawal" the US authorities refer to is about 10 kilometers from the Pakistani Shawal area, across the border in Afghanistan.