If Bush wins, we'll get military draft

I'm sick of getting RNC chain letter emails. Copy this opinion letter and let's start our own. The draft is a powerful issue.
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If Bush wins, we'll get military draft


If you have children, you would probably do anything you could to protect them from danger. My daughter is in the Army, stationed in Germany, and my son-in-law is in pilot-training school in Alabama. While they volunteered for the military, your child may have no choice about it if George W. Bush is re-elected.

Parents, our country is in danger. Going down the path he is, Bush will need more troops—many more—to fight his battles. Believe it or not, he's reportedly targeting Iran next and possibly Syria.

Reportedly Bush plans to reinstitute the military draft as early as next spring. He will deny this before the election. If you have a 14 year-old child, he/she could be drafted by the end of Bush's second term in office. Check out the website for Mothers Opposing Bush, www.mob.org. We need to protect our children and our country from the appalling foreign policy and secrecy of Bush & Cheney. And we need to pray for our troops' safe return from Iraq and Afghanistan.

Kathy Walsh,

La Crosse, Wisconsin



http://www.tomahjournal.com/articles/2004/09/26/opinion/04walshletter.txt

Which congress people are endorsing this legislation? Can't we all flood their in-boxes?

the election! In fact, Karl Rove polled them on this and the GOP Congress told him in the SECRET POLL that they would reinstate the DRAFT if Bush asked them to.

From Family Circle July 13
COULD YOUR CHILD BE DRAFTED?

http://www.gjusa.com/news/pressReleaseDetails.jsp?id=4141


According to retired U.S. Army Colonel David Hackworth, a military analyst and one of the most decorated officers in the army, the U.S. military is now so shorthanded that a whopping 40 percent of the 135,000 troops being rotated into Iraq are National Guard members and reservists.

-snip-

Both the Pentagon and Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld deny that a draft is in the works, yet there are signs to the contrary. For example, last fall, Presidential advisor Karl Rove polled Republican members of Congress on how they felt about he draft. They said they’d support the president. Also, last fall, the Defense Department’s website posted an ad for local Selective Service System board members, and according to the Selective Service Annual Performance Plan for 2004, before next March 31 draft boards must be potentially operational within two and a half months of a return to conscription. Increasingly, members of Congress, including Senator Chuck Hagel (R-NE), are calling for a draft.

BUSH '04 = DRAFT '05

KERRY '04 = PNAC OUT THE DOOR!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

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Sept. 24 (Bloomberg) -- The military draft is back, at least in the U.S. presidential campaign.

John Kerry says ``it is possible'' President George W. Bush may reinstate the draft if he is re-elected. Bush and the U.S. military say it isn't necessary.

The mention of another draft, which ended in 1973 as the U.S. reduced its commitment to the Vietnam War, stirs fears among voters. More than 1,039 U.S. military personnel have died in Iraq, and 7,413 were wounded since the war began in March 2003. Militants have stepped up attacks in the country against the U.S. and its allies, including beheadings of two hostages this week.

``I don't know if there is going to be a draft or not but it sure appears to me that they are going to need a whole lot more troops,'' said Philip Schwartz, 50, a corporate lawyer in Miami with an 18-year-old son. ``I am worried about my son. I am worried about other peoples' children.''

Military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan since 2001 forced the Pentagon to call up for duty more than 335,000 reservists, and reliance on them may remain high for years, the Government Accountability Office said Sept. 15. About 138,000 U.S. troops are in Iraq. The U.S. has 1.4 million active military personnel, with about 230,000 troops based overseas.

Not Enough

``It's clear, at least to most observers, that we don't have sufficient personnel,'' Arizona Republican Senator John McCain said yesterday at a congressional hearing. McCain, a former U.S. Navy captain who was a prisoner of war for five years in Vietnam, favors expanding the volunteer military, not reinstating a draft.

http://quote.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000103&sid=aaTWV659Mp_8&refer=us
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What I know:

1) Our military is stretched thin.

2) Bush has lied so far.

3) Under Bush's policies, we need more troops (200,000 -- 300,000 more) to stabilize Iraq and Afghanistan.

4) A substantial number of additional troops (600,000+) will be needed to complete Bush's plan of invading and occupying Iran and Syria.

5) Double those numbers for the need to rotate them out each 12 months.

6) The Selective Service has lobbyied for a "special skills" draft that will register men and women ages 18 - 34 with technical skills:

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

Don't be confused by the Rangel DRAFT PROTEST BILL and the new BUSH SKILLS AND COMBAT DRAFT ACTIVITY that I've been reporting on. It's easy to get mixed up because both would draft women and both would expand the age up to 34 from 25. BUT Rangel's bill is a protest bill and hasn't a PRAYER of passing because it DRAFTS WOMEN for COMBAT.

The GOP hates that idea. Rangel proposed it because he knew it wouldn't pass but it would make it

The NEW BUSH SKILLS DRAFT would only DRAFT women for NON-COMBAT skills job.

They are two different animals.

The SSS secret Issue Paper which was an agenda for a 2003 top-level meeting between the head of the SSS and Deputy Undersecretary Abell in charge of Personnel and Readiness of the DoD, see: http://www.blatanttruth.org/selective_service091304.pdf

It's important that we not mix these up.

Here are the differences between the RANGEL PROTEST BILL and the secretive behind-the-scenes activity at the SSS and the DoD to ready not only a BUSH COMBAT DRAFT in 2005 but also a BUSH SKILLS DRAFT and BUSH MEDICAL DRAFT in 2006 or sooner.

RANGEL PROTEST BILL

1. Would replace current draft legislation drafting only men for combat, retaining current exemptions such a high school and Conscientious Objector status
   
2. Drafts Women for combat as well as men, ages 18-34
   
3. Does not draft for skills, combat draft only
   

ACTUAL BUSH SSS ACTIVITY TOWARD A 2005 DRAFT

1. Could draft MEN ONLY for combat, 18-25 (Current law)
   
2. "Groundwork being laid" (SSS Spokesman Amon) for a NON-COMBAT SKILLS DRAFT, men and women age 18-34. 2-year process to gear up SKILLS DRAFT started nearly 2 YEARS AGO in Feb. 2003, meaning a skills draft would be ready in 2005. (a new law wuold be passed if Bush gets back in)
   
3. The MEDICAL DRAFT registration data collection is also going to be readied for operational use in 2005 by using the SKILLS DRAFT work they've done and make the reg card you'd fill out at the Post Office contain all the listed medical skills. This means the Medical draft would be ready in 2005, men and women age 20-44. (This draft like the current combat draft for men 18-25, is already the law of the land)
   
4. The secret http://www.blatanttruth.org/selective_service091304.pdf>Issue Paper actually proposes being able to call a SKILLS and MEDICAL DRAFT WITHOUT calling a combat draft.
   

The biggest difference of course is that the RANGEL PROTEST BILL will NEVER happen and the NEW BUSH DRAFT has already begun gearing up for 2005.

SKILLS DRAFT AND NEW COMBAT DRAFT TIMELINE

Feb. 11 2003 - Top-level meeting between the head of the SSS and Deputy Undersecretary Abell in charge of Personnel and Readiness of the DoD on the SKILLS DRAFT. This is the meeting of the secret Issue Paper, revealed by the Freedom of Information Act in May. The SSS goes back encouraged enough to do some more planning.

Summer 2003 - Drive to start filling DRAFT BOARD vacancies by asking current board members to find new ones.

Fall 2003 - DoD announces critical skills shortages in linguists, computer experts and engineers. SSS Director Brodsky orders the designing of the SKILLS DRAFT procedures, the reg card and the massive database needed to track every young American under 35 and their skills. Brodsky, who "plays" JE McNeil and other anti-draft leaders by calling them regularly and shmoozing them, lies to McNeil telling her that in February of 2003 the SSS had to "justify their existence" before a hostile committee--when in reality the SSS and DOD were having the SKILLS DRAFT meeting and he himself had just started designing the new system and making it his top priority.

Sept 2003 - Draft board recruitment ad goes up on Web.

November 2003 - Draft board ad scrubbed!

Dec. 2003 - Brodsky announces the SKILLS DRAFT to be the "top priority' of the SSS in newsletter and tells of rapid progress to come.

March 13, 2004 - Word of SKILLS DRAFT leaks out in a SF Chronicle story and the SSS admits it and tells reporters it’s just a planning contingency. In an attempt to throw the press off, the SSS also says it would take 2 years to gear up and work out the kinks for the SKILLS DRAFT and that there is no funding for it. Eric Rosenberg, the reporter on the story, finds out about the Feb. 11 meeting Issue Paper and files a Freedom of Information Act request to get it.
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2004/03/13/MNG905K1BC1.DTL


May 1, 2004 – Article on SKILLS DRAFT leaves out key points of how skills conscription would be expanded to fill labor shortages throughout Dept of Homeland Security, 1/3 of government, how the SKILLS DRAFT can be called without a combat draft, how SKILLS INDUCTEES will be inducted within a mere 90 days of reauthorization, that the SSS wanted to “promptly” change the very MISSION of the SSS and so on. The article does, however, reveal many major point of sweeping plan. http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/171522_draft01.html

Sept 13, 2004 – Issue Paper agenda memo of key Feb 2003 meeting posted on the Web at http://www.blatanttruth.org/selective_service091304.pdf sample:
"while a conventional draft may never be needed, a draft of men and women possessing these critical skills may be warranted in a future crisis if too few volunteer."

2004 – MOCK DRAFT LOTTERY HELD, SAMPLE MEDICAL EXAM REPORT ORDERS ISSUED TO MAIL LIST. Alternative Service geared up for first time in 31 years! Papers to place Conscientious Objectors with employers actually drawn up. SSS brought up to 95% operational capability, full Medical draft capability set for 2005, all DRAFT BOARD vacancies filled by Spring 2005! On March 31, 2005, the SSS Director must report to the Congress that the entire system is primed and ready to open 2,000 draft board offices and start inducting within 75 days, or June 15, 2005.




PRINT THE PDF: http://somnamblst.tripod.com/draftalert.pdf

I have seen that evidence of Bush's preparation for a draft, but most people haven't.

http://somnamblst.tripod.com to see other flyers. I gave FLIM FLAM MAN to a Bush supporter while door to door canvassing and he read every word. FFM quotes Army War College AND General Odom. Google these terms with Iraq to see what I am talking about. Google General Zinni also.

Sitting down to write a Letter to the Editor this evening. I live in a swing state, so I'll send it to two local papers. The draft is a huge issue, we need to get Mom out to the polls.

Of reducing the time of tours of duty down to 6 or 9 months. there will beno choice but to reinstitute that draft.

ALready there has been a significant drop off of national guard enlisments (they have bit met the projected quota needed to maintain current levels of troops)

THat just means the tour of duty will be EXTENDED to 15 months probably--right after the election.

Looks like Ill be spending 5 years in prison if Bush gets reselected. Ill look on the bright side though, my county just built a brand new prison and by the time I get out it should all be over. :)

:kick:

Bush and the republican congress are not going to reinstate the draft. The foremost reason for not reinstating the draft is that they will lose nearly all support for further warmaking. The draft was hugely unpopular and motivating troops who have no desire to be in the military is very difficult. It leads to significantly more violations the the uniform code of military justice as people who have no interest in being in a war zone engage in behaviors that will get them out of the warzone and into a nice safe cell far from the war (or a dishonorable discharge).

Many of the top military brass still remember dealing with draftees in Vietnam and they are stongly oppossed to a draft. Congressional lawmakers will not want to face an election in 2006 after having pushed through a draft.

At its face this whole rumor is silly. A "secret" plan, Kerry has gone on in the past few weeks about different "secret" plans that the Bush administrations has in the works. It makes him sound like some nutty conspiracy theorist.

A war with Syria or Iran is much more likely to be along the lines of a total war. Our airpower has been underutilized in Iraq and large bombing campaigns can quickly bring a country to its knees. Requiring very few troops to maintain the order as the threat of further extensive attacks will keep the star systems... I mean cities in line.

it'll make the Republican National Convention look like a Greenpeace event.

Dumb folks everywhere will eat it up.

Rich folks everywhere will not be drafted.