Colombia Plans to Scrap Paid Exemption for Universal Army Draft

[Judi Lynn]

Source: Bloomberg

Colombia Plans to Scrap Paid Exemption for Universal Army Draft

By Helen Murphy and Andrea Jaramillo

Aug. 31 (Bloomberg) -- Colombia plans to end a system that allows draftees to pay the government in lieu of military service as the country confronts a shortfall in active duty troops, Defense Minister Juan Manuel Santos said.

``We are going to present a law so that rich and poor go to the army,'' Santos said in an interview at his office in Bogota. ``They can't pay to get out, everyone would be subject to the same conditions.''
(snip)

The government plans to send the universal service bill, which Santos described as ``controversial,'' to Congress in about two weeks, he said.

While all Colombian young men are subject to the draft for service of as much as 18 months, the law provides a bypass through a payment to the government, a route taken by many wealthy families, Santos said. The government plans to bolster the armed forces with an additional 40,000 personnel by 2010, Santos said.


Read more: http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601086&sid=aWt...

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The Colombian government is the third largest recipient of U.S. aid.

[conspirator]

1. If everyone had to go to the front lines there would be less wars n/t

[cherokeeprogressive]

2. I'm not so sure I agree with that.

I'm thinking that a shrub dictator with a little dick would be more apt to send his huge army into war than not.

[Judi Lynn]

3. Colombian President Uribe has hit a brick wall with the Democratic Congress

Thank God, they have decided to suspend legislation _Bush wants for his right-wing ally Alvaro Uribe, to give him a moment to reconsider Colombia's grotesque record of human rights abuses (atrocities is the clearer word) and the world's worst record of murdering union workers and organizers, and many, many murders of journalists, human rights activists, etc.

Uribe, upon planning a trip to the U.S. to see _Bush and to lobby Congress, hired the same public relations firm which Hillary Clinton uses to try to pave the way for him by creating a new storm of positive Colombia publicity. So far, it hasn't worked.

It looks very clear he wouldn't throw the children of the powerful Colombian oligarchy under the selective service/draft bus at this late date if he didn't think extraordinary measures were needed to keep that astonishing gravy train coming in from the U.S. taxpayers.

Of course, the powerful Colombian elite being what it is, they'll probably end up sending their kids out of the country during the vulnerable years to go to school in Chile, or Argentina, or points north (Miami?).



_{Alvaro Uribe has his American country-fied driver haul his ass around.}

[Bacchus39]

4. education exemptions are a common method of avoiding compulsory service

in Latin America. Miami is not the only city where Colombians attend college in the USA.