|
Rumors of a Draft in 2005?
By Kevin Ramirez, CCCO Staff
US troops in Iraq conducting a house search.
Since October of 2001 the US military has been conducting combat operations in Afghanistan where close to 10,000 US troops are fighting in Operation Enduring Freedom. On March 20, 2003, hundreds of thousands of US soldiers invaded Iraq to overthrow Saddam Hussein and his alleged stockpiles of weapons of mass destruction that constituted an imminent threat . Operation Iraqi Freedom is the name of this current campaign that in the single month of April of this year has resulted in over 100 US soldiers killed in combat and over 1000 Iraqis killed. As the occupation passes the one year mark, combat operations have slowly intensified to the point where countries that have sent troops to Iraq are now pulling them out. Thousands of US soldiers have been put on stop loss, thousands more have had their one year tour of duty extended by 3 months, and at least 600 have gone AWOL. With ongoing wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and troops stationed in over 130 countries, the US military appears to be in a personnel crisis.
April 2004: Spanish troops on their way out of Iraq.
What is one of the things the US military does when faced with a personnel crisis? They start drafting people.
In recent weeks more and more people have become concerned about a possible draft in 2005. They have good reason to be concerned. It is obvious the US military needs more troops in Iraq if they want to stabilize the horrible situation created by the invasion and occupation, and unfortunately, bringing the troops home is not an option this government is weighing yet. The Selective Service system was created as a solution to the exact problem the US military is currently facing in Iraq. So what evidence is there that a draft is being considered?
Selective Service must evaluate its effectiveness every year and report on it to obtain funding to justify its existence. One of the things Selective Service must report on is the status of local draft boards that would classify draftees in the event of a draft. Every year Selective Service recruits and trains new draft board members. Last year Selective Service put out a press release calling for volunteers for local draft board service. The press release was posted on various websites, and in the context of the war in Iraq, many people saw this as a warning sign of the draft. Settle down folks, they've been doing this every year for the past 24 years! That's right, for the last 24 years Selective Service has been poised to begin a draft and deliver thousands of young men to the military in the space of several months. After all, this is their mission, their very reason for existence.
1969 Draft Lottery
Another element that has added to the belief that a draft is imminent is the $26.1 million Selective Service obtained this year as part of their annual budget. In recent articles that have been circulating across the web, this has been misquoted as a $28 million increase in funding to Selective Service when in fact it represents just a small increase of funding from the amount they received last year. But don't start breathing sighs of relief just yet.
While most people seem to think that George W. Bush is plotting to draft your children after he wins the election this November, it would be wise to consider that there are two bills in Congress seeking to reinstate the draft- both being pushed by Democrats!
H.R. 163 and S. 89 were both introduced by Democrats Charles Rangel (NY) and Ernest Hollings (SC) respectively. The bills were introduced in January 2003 and would require both men and women to either perform mandatory military or civilian service. Both of these pieces of legislation are currently stalled and there's no indication that they are going anywhere anytime soon. But, just when you thought the draft debate ended here comes Republican Senator Chuck Hagel (NE).
From left: Charles Rangel, Ernest Hollings, and Chuck Hagel
Appearing on NBC's Today Show on April 21, 2004, Hagel said that mandatory military service must be considered in the face of what he described as a generational war against terrorism , with a grim forecast of the US being engaged in war for the next 25 years! Echoing prior statements by Selective Service representatives and Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, presidential spokesman Scott McClellan replied to Hagel's comments by saying that reinstatement of the draft is not something that's under consideration at this time.
Which leads us to ask if not now, when?
While we at CCCO hope for the best, it is always wise to prepare for the worst. However, the likelihood of a reinstatement of the draft is impossible to predict. There are too many unanswered questions, such as: what will be happening in Iraq six months from now, what will be happening in Afghanistan six months from now, who will win the election this November, will there be another terrorist attack in the United States, will there be a re-enlistment crisis for the US military, will there be a recruiting shortfall for the US military, will Congress authorize a draft, will the president call for one, etc?
Since we can't predict the future, maybe we should look at the past to give us some idea of how a draft would affect the US government. On February 15, 2003 millions of people throughout the world including Americans staged amssive rallies to protest the U.S. invasion of Iraq. The amount of anti-war sentiment in the U.S. has only grown since the invasion last year. The death of 700 American soldiers in Iraq has done much to swell the ranks of the antiwar movement, as has the absence of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq; a draft would surely cause millions more to pour into the streets and protest. For those who remember what happened during the Vietnam war, the draft was responsible for thousands of deaths in the war, protests and riots throughout the United States, and almost turned the US Army upside down as soldiers organized from within to stop the war. Does anyone really think the U.S. government wants to go down that road again?
Protests against the Vietnam War, the Draft and the National Guard on campus resulted in 4 students killed by the National Guard May 4, 1970 at Kent State University.
What the military would rather do, according to Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, is improve the way the Pentagon manages the 1.4 million active duty service members in the military. What they plan to do is reorganize and increase the number of combat brigades from 33 to as many as 48 over the next several years. This can be done by pulling troops out of jobs that can then be turned over and performed by civilian Defense Department workers or government contractors, thus freeing more troops for combat related duty. To a certain degree the military has already reorganized itself, with an unprecedented 40% of troops in Iraq coming from Reserve and National Guard units. On top of this, the military can always pour more money into recruiting and retention programs and bonuses, and seek to lift the Congressional cap on the amount of active duty and reserve soldiers in each branch of the military.
These factors among others lead us to believe that the government feels that reinstating the draft is the least desirable means to increase military "manpower."
Regardless of the likelihood of a draft, if you are of draft age you need to find out what your options are. Go to www.objector.org and www.sss.gov to find out exactly how the process works. If you think you may be a conscientious objector, then find out what you need to do to get your documentation together. Contact CCCO and we can send you the relevant materials you will need to begin compiling your claim as a conscientious objector. Remember that the government does not “officially” recognize civilians as conscientious objectors when there’s no draft. But if you prepare your CO file now, you’ll be ready if there is a draft. Contact us for more details.
You can also take action right now to make your opposition to the draft known. On May 14, 2004, there will be a lobby day organized by the Center on Conscience & War in Washington D.C. If you can't make it to D.C. that day, contact the Senatorial and Congressional district offices in your community and let them know that you would oppose any reinstatement of the draft. You can write letters to your local newspaper or organize anti-draft workshops in your community; there are various ways that we can prepare ourselves and our children for the next 25 years of war.
Caskets containing US soldiers killed in Iraq make their way back to Dover AFB.
More importantly, we need to understand the motivation behind the recent bills that have been calling for the draft’s reinstatement. The supposed reason behind these renewed calls for a draft is to “spread the burden of military service across all classes of Americans.” This reasoning blatantly points out that too many poor and middle class people are bearing the burden of military service. CCCO understands the factors that contribute to this “poverty draft”, and work through our Military Out of Our Schools Program to inform and educate youth in high schools about the myths behind recruiting and the realities of war in a military commitment. The work we do through our GI Rights Program assists service members who want to get out of the military. Their reasons range widely from conscientious objection, to medical and psychological problems, to familial hardships, to hazing and homophobia, to sexual assault and rape and racial discrimination. The GI Rights Hotline started in 1994 and received less than 1,000 calls per year; in 2003 we received almost 29,000 calls! This work must become the focus of antiwar activists in order to prevent people from being lured into combat because they need a job or college money. Get involved with these programs on any level that you can. We must do as much as we can to stop the militarization of our society and our schools.
|