There really is going to be a draft.

[Timefortruth]

Today I talked to a retired military man. He retired four years ago after 29 years active duty and reserve service, but not by choice. I didn’t really understand the military jargon for why he had to retire when he did and that’s not the point anyway. He said that he has been called and notified that he should be ready to go and teach military stuff if the draft resumes. He was very matter of fact about it, no surprise at all that it is going to come to that. I like this guy and sure that it all makes sense to him because he began his service during the draft, he was more baffled by my reaction then I was to his news.

It is real; shoot your children in the foot tonight.

[durutti]

1. Yeah

It's going to happen. I'm convinced.

[travisleit01]

2. Seriously...

I am almost 18 (in March). And I have heard that C.O. status is going to be next to impossible to obtain. If Bush is reseleted next year - what should I do? I'm already having nightmares about this.

[ldoolin]

21. Spread it far and wide among draft-age youth

www.objector.org

[Dems Will Win]

23. This is from an anti-war draft counseling group

http://www.objector.org/conscription/not-register.html

<snip>

Legally, at any moment until your twenty-sixth birthday, Selective Service must accept your draft registration card. Some young men delay registration until the year in which they turn 21 (at which point the chances of being drafted are extremely slim), or even until just before turning 26. Once registered, you're once again eligible for federal assistance. (Since delayed registration is also illegal, this approach is a form of draft resistance.)

On the other hand, if you don't register before you turn 26, you will not be allowed to register, even if you change your mind. You'd then be permanently barred from such benefits, unless Congress or the courts act to change the law, which is unlikely.

<snip>

[jiacinto]

36. But then you can forget getting student loans

nt

[neuvocat]

28. You have two options:

1)either join the Air Force or Navy (because you'll more than likely live, not just survive)

-or-

2)haul ass to mexico or other parts unknown.

[in_cog_ni_to]

42. Move to Canada.

And I'm serious about that. If there's any possible way for you to move there, DO IT! ASAP.

[durutti]

3. Question

Is it true that they won't take you if you're an only child?

[Fovea]

5. False

so dont shoot your sibling.

[w13rd0]

6. That'll only apply...

...if you have a "name worth inheriting"...like Bush, or Baker, or bin Laden...

[travisleit01]

19. Wonder what Barbara and Jenna will be doing??

[MUAD_DIB]

44. Iam confident that there will be room for them

in the Texas Air National Guard: Tequilla Division.

[Fovea]

4. Yep

What choice do they have?
You cannot fight a multi front war with a volunteer army. Nobody volunteers to lose and die.

[AlFrankenFan]

7. Oy vey

What's the minimum age for the draft? I want to know whether or not to allow my parents to shoot me in the foot.

[Kitsune]

9. 18-26 IIRC

[Langis]

10. Damnit!

I thought it was 24! I am 23 now, and thought I would be clear if Bush was reSelected.

[Kitsune]

12. You're better off than me

I turn 21 in February, and from other posts on DU I'm hearing that they wanna draft 20 or 21 year old's first. >_<

[travisleit01]

13. Well

Summer 2005 I'll be 19, so I assume that I'll be in one of the top age groups to be drafted.

[Dems Will Win]

26. You'll be in the 2006 DRAFT

Don't forget there is a Lottery, so you might get a high number.

[happyslug]

22. They darfted as high as 35 during WWII

And the Europeans drafted even higher ages towards the end of WWI and WWII, when you need bodies you take want you can get.

[Occulus]

24. would it be possible for them to

extend the age to, say, 30?

If so, well, I'm scared shitless.

[Timefortruth]

11. Buy a bulletproof boot tonight if you want to serve. nt

[Chomskyite]

35. In WW2 men were drafted up to age 42

n/t

[knight_of_the_star]

8. Shit

I hope to the Gods that Clark wins in '04. He knows better than to use a draft-based military.

[PSR40004]

15. No way

The military doesn't want it, the general public doesn't want it and enlistments are up so it's not needed.

I wouldn't buy into it...

[Timefortruth]

18. Sorry, but if it matters to you do some research.

Not all of your facts are correct, but you need to go find out for yourself.

[PSR40004]

37. OK just did and I'm right...

Alright just checked around google, Yahoo and MSN and everything I said can be backed up, now can you site sources on what I said is off?

Face it it ain't going to happen as bush lite is losing strength not gaining it and he'd have a hard time starting this up...

[knight_of_the_star]

30. As Mark Twain said

"Truth is stranger than fiction because fiction has to be believeable."

What shocks me is how STUPID the bushies have proven themselves to be by doing this. They DO realize the draft was ONE of the reasons the Vietnam War protest movement got so much traction because the draft affected so many people and could swoop down on ANYONE. At least, for their sakes they should remember that.

[PaDUer]

40. Enlistments are up?

Did the freeps join to take advantage of the supposed college loans? Ya right! They can't even read!

[Crewleader]

20. I support General Clark

he knows a volunteer arm forces is alot better then a draft. They drafted all the undesirables in Vietnam, my brother who was drafted in the Army said he didn't know who to trust...some real low lifes',straight from the courts, Take The Draft or Go To Jail.

Morale is low now with a volunteer...let's face it most who signed up for the reserves only do so for the added paycheck never dreaming what Bush would be do invading Iraq.

Yes indeed we need General Clark as President so we do have a exit strategy and build a coalition with our allies again with Clark's leadership.

[TXvote]

14. That's Universal Mandatory Service To You, Soldier

Get one more thing straight, it's not your daddy's draft.

This would be a mandatory 2 year service for everyone (non-gender biased) to be served between the ages of 18-25. That's right, boys AND girls, EVERYONE gets to tote a gun for a full 48 months. Concienctious (sic) objectors may be sent to combat zones but will not be armed. Also known as education interupptus. The idea is, if it's good enough for Israel, it's good enough for America.

The call for volunteers to serve on the Selective Service boards went out and funding for office space, etc was requested in the 2005 proposed budget draft. This is happening and it's going to be ugly.

Peace,
Teresa
www.votervirgin.com

[travisleit01]

16. What can we (18-25 y.o.'s) do?

Since it sounds difficult to obtain C.O. status. I had to register for the SS EARLY (for college - I'm 17), and they send me a card in the mail saying 'It is very commendable that you chose to register early!" WTF?

[happyslug]

27. Better choice would be a skill that in demand for military suppliers

Such positions have ALWAYS been exempt. I had a Uncle who avoided the WWII draft for he was in a "Credical Defense Job" in the steel industry (Don't look to steel today, but maybe high tech).

I read a story once of a worker in Westervelt Armory who ENLISTED int he US Navy during WWII, 1/2 way through Boot he was Transferred to the US Army and than assigned to his old job at Westervelt because it was our only factory to make modern cannons (and the Navy wanted Cannons during WWII). His job was so critical that he could not even ENLIST. That is the type of job you want. My Problem given that we buy so much overseas today what jobs meets that critical except ass kisser to the GOP?

[Dems Will Win]

17. Holy Merde! Maureen Farrell should interview your friend.

They won't talk about it and they say they have no plans but the activation is already afoot!

Hey MattNC, look at this! What say you now?

[Timefortruth]

25. He is a very direct man, I don't know what he'd agree to,

but it wouldn't surprise me if he would agree to an interview.

He thinks we should have ousted Saddam, but we did agree strongly that we need to finish what we started. He did say that it would have been better to have had internaional support.

Since he is in touch with men serving over there he emphasized that in small towns and remote areas the US really is welcomed. The soldiers are given food and support by the locals as they rebuild the infrastructure. But he added that in the cities the story is different, there the US is seen as an occupier, and the soldiers endure real hardship as a result. But he wanted to focus on the good news, that it isn’t all bad over there. He is 100% military and hates Bush.

[MattNC]

38. i say..

nothin' really. i don't take a post on a message board like this to be any kind of definitive proof. no offense to the poster, i just don't buy it. why would they be making calls now?? doesn't make sense -- especially if the draft won't be til mid-late '05 or '06.

get this man to do an interview with a legitimate news organization though and i'll believe it.

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

29. Good.

I'm not happy that people may fight and die, but we live in a shallow blood thirsty society that only pays attention to their bottom line and the devil may care about the rest.

After many sons and daughters are risked ....perhaps people will wake up. When it is their life or their child's life on the line, maybe they will care.

I realize some people on this board will flame me but the vast majority of people are NOT active beyond TALKING about politics.

I've been banging my head against a wall for 22 years on the state level. In fact, almost since shortly after the end of Viet Nam and Watergate.

Having something at stake definitely wakes people up. All the people doing everything FOR THE CHILDREN including protecting them from reasonable sex education in the schools, will have one more thing to do FOR THE CHILDREN...actually look at how they need to modify their lives and their votes to create a peaceful world FOR THE CHILDREN.

[tkmorris]

31. Sure NSMA but......

The trouble is that to wake people up in that fashion takes a lot of bloodshed. I would rather wish for severe economic strife to get people involved. Perhaps even some other way though it is difficult to imagine what that might be.

Even if Iraq and the rest of the Middle East caused casualties and upheaval reminiscent of Vietnam the effects on people would last less than a generation. It still amazes me that just a few short years after Watergate and the end of the Vietnam War Carter somehow lost to Ronnie Rayguns. People forget things, and fast. As hard as they are to wake up, they so quickly fall back asleep.

[LoneStarLiberal]

33. I Agree

The only way that the politically inactive, politically apathetic, and politically subservient swaths of the population are going to ever have foreign policy tied to them in a meaningful manner (a manner in which it becomes relevant instead of the cable opinion network abstraction that it has become) is, regrettably, to have an intimate, personal sanction to it.

About the only way that you can do that is by virtue of reinstating a draft. A draft drags non-participants into the political arena kicking and screaming and will nearly guarantee that any attempt to go to war will only be condoned if it is in clear retribution to being attacked.

With a draft would we have gone into Afghanistan? I think so. The governmentless state of Afghanistan (internationally speaking)played a significant enough and direct enough role in fostering Al-Qaeda training camps and operational facilities that the case was one that made itself in my opinion.

With a draft would be have gone into Iraq? I think not. The government put on a full court PR press to sell the country on Iraq; a full court PR press that wasn't that well-constructed in the first place. But, one of the main reasons the war was such an easy sell to the suburban chickenhawk crowd was because it was all so nice and easy for them; they had no stake in it.

As cynical as it is to say, a universal draft gives a broader swath of the public a stake in making war...a stake that, outside of the most extreme of cases, will ground our country in sanity.

[Zhade]

39. Agreed.

Nothing will bring about 60s-style internal dissent like the draft.

I hate it, but it may be the only way to shake people awake to the realities of our government.

[tinrobot]

32. A draft might not be bad.... or it could be really bad.

Weren't a few legislators pushing for a draft last year on the assumption that drafting our nation's children would make more people anti-war?

They do have a point. I'm sure a draft would put millions into the streets in protest.

On the bad side, if we have a lame-duck in the White House, he's not going to give a flying crap about our sons and daughters lives because he doesn't have to answer to the voters.

[bluestateguy]

34. One silver lining

Watch voter turnout among young people skyrocket if the draft even seems like a possibility. The last Gallup poll I saw showed that 91% of 18-29 year olds opposed a draft.

[dusty64]

41. I'm feeling a draft

myself. :scared: The Democrats better NOT go along with this and I expect fierce opposition for a change. We will NOT willingly supply innocent lives for the rethug's war machine. This WILL be the defining moment for our two party system, if they help this insane plan through that will be the last straw for millions of supporters.

[ArkDem]

43. Sounds like you have impeccable sources.

.

[jiacinto]

45. One question

Wouldn't a draft be somewhat counterproductive? More and more Americans are overweright. Also there are many people who physically would not be able to handle the work that soldiers do. Wouldn't it be a waste of time and resources for the Army to train people who are "untrainable" Or would they all be put into desk jobs?

[Snivi Yllom]

46. not buying this

There has been no evidence of a need for a draft.