A new kind of military draft

[ringmastery]

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/164693_draft13.html

WASHINGTON -- The government is taking the first steps toward a targeted military draft of Americans with special skills in computers and foreign languages.

Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld is adamant that he will not ask Congress to authorize a draft, and officials at the Selective Service System, the independent federal agency that would organize any conscription, stress that the possibility of a so-called "special skills draft" is remote.

Nonetheless, the agency has begun the process of creating the procedures and policies to conduct such a targeted draft in case military officials ask Congress to authorize it and the lawmakers agree to such a request.

"Talking to the manpower folks at the Department of Defense and others, what came up was that nobody foresees a need for a large conventional draft such as we had in Vietnam," said Richard Flahavan, a spokesman for the Selective Service System. "But they thought that if we have any kind of a draft, it will probably be a special skills draft."

Flahavan said Selective Service planning for a possible draft of linguists and computer experts began last fall after Pentagon personnel officials said the military needed more people with skills in those areas.

EDITED BY ADMIN: COPYRIGHT

[bluestateguy]

1. I guess that's this Administration's jobs program for outsourced workers

Let all the private sector jobs go to India, then when those displaced are so desperate and destitute that they wouldn't have the energy to resist a draft, you put the machinery in place to resume conscription just after Baby Bush is "re" elected.

[IronLionZion]

3. If Kerry is commander in chief

then I would seriously consider volunteering. I'll be needing an IT job about this time next year when I graduate. And surely a Democrat would reinstate the lost benefits and choose troop deployments more wisely and honorably.

[whistle]

2. This will take care of those mealy mouthed persons....

...in the computer field who have been complaining about hi-tech jobs being outsourced overseas.

:evilgrin:

[CoupdEtat2000]

4. Uh boy. Here we go ..

[Moderator]

5. ringmastery

Per DU copyright rules
please post only four
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Thank you.


DU Moderator