Posted on 07/20/2004 3:44:10 AM PDT by Former Military Chick
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
July 19, 2004
Fears Of A Military Draft Persist
By Will Sullivan, Of the Post-Dispatch
WASHINGTON - In 1999, when Barry Zellen created StoptheDraft.com, he said, the site got only a few thousand hits a month. Even after Sept. 11, 2001, there was no widespread interest in the debate over conscription, he said.
"It only really seemed to become an issue on people's agendas during the buildup to the gulf war," Zellen said, referring to last year's invasion of Iraq.
Interest in his site has since snowballed to the point that each month the site gets 150,000 to 200,000 visitors, so many that Zellen, 41, says he will have to buy a new server to handle the demand.
Draft rumors have flourished in mass e-mails and on Internet sites like Zellen's, despite denials from politicians and the Pentagon that any such plans are in the works. Dan Amon, a spokesman for the Selective Service System, said claims the government was secretly planning a draft were completely false.
"There's no likelihood of there being a draft," Amon said. "There's no indication whatsoever, not even a hint, not even a clue."
Many Web sites point to a bill authored by Rep. Charles Rangel, D-N.Y., that would reinstate the draft. But that bill is now stalled indefinitely in committee, and was sponsored mainly by opponents of the war in Iraq.
One was Rep. William Lacy Clay, D-Mo., who said public officials might be more thoughtful about sending Americans to war if their own children could be drafted.
"We felt that this burden should be shared by all Americans all across the economic strata and all across the racial strata," Clay said.
Rep. Ike Skelton, D-Mo., and Sen. Jim Talent, R-Mo., who serve on their chambers' armed services committees, oppose a draft.
"Not going to happen," Skelton said. "We need 40,000 more troops, not several hundred thousand more in the army."
Skelton and Rich Chrismer, a spokesman for Talent, said the required number of troops could be made up by enlistment.
"Sen. Talent is not for the draft and he believes suggestions like that are alarmist," Chrismer said.
Nevertheless, e-mails and Web sites continue to argue that a draft is imminent, pointing to government efforts to fill vacant positions on local draft boards.
Amon said filling vacant board positions is routine. When the draft registration was reinstated in 1980, after the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, board members were selected for 20-year terms, Amon said. Those terms began expiring in 2000, and the positions must be filled.
Some accuse President George W. Bush of simply waiting until after the election to institute a draft, a claim Amon said was illogical.
"Some people think we may spring this on people next June once Bush is safely re-elected," Amon said. "But 435 members of Congress have to go before the voters every two years and they'd rather pull (the military) out rather than reinstate the draft."
Ted Triebel, a former national security officer in the Pentagon who spent 29 years in the Navy, said people who fear a draft are "far out in left field."
"There's no political will for a draft on either side of the aisle," Triebel said. "The administration doesn't want a draft. The Department of Defense doesn't want a draft."
Triebel, a visiting lecturer at Duke University, added that a draft would be an inefficient and expensive way to increase troop levels. A draft, Triebel said, would conscript soldiers for two-year terms. But in the modern military, where soldiers would have to train for at least a year before deployment, they would probably have a maximum of nine months in the field before their terms expire.
Even some opponents of the war do not subscribe to fears about mandatory military service. Woody Powell, executive director for the St. Louis-based Veterans for Peace, said he did not believe draft rumors.
"I don't think that they have any foundation or substance," Powell said. "There are a lot of alarmist-type theories."
Until recently, Zellen said, concerns about a draft have been ignored by traditional media, even while they circulate widely on the Internet. Zellen said the debate over the draft was another example of the Internet's growing influence over the nation's political dialogue.
"I guess it's the ghost of Howard Dean," Zellen said. "Out of the blue, he became a sensation because his campaign could take root on the Web before the press discovered him."
The Selective Service System has been so beleaguered by accusations of reinstating the draft, the organization added a denial on its Web site.
Bush and Democratic rival John Kerry say they have no interest in reinstating the draft. But independent presidential candidate Ralph Nader has promoted rumors of conscription. In a letter on his Web site, Nader writes that young Americans should know that "a train is coming, and it could run over their generation."
"He sees a troop strength problem for the United States and so he thinks it's important for people to get organized, especially the youth, to make sure this doesn't happen," Nader spokesman Kevin Zeese said.
Kim Bell of the Post-Dispatch contributed to this report.
Only because the RATS want the soccer moms upset enough to vote for them.
Good!
Look at the record,.......Democrats know how to 'use' the draft,,,,,,'LBJ',...etc.
Real time HISTORY.
/sarcasm
It just amazes that each day there is a new article in some paper putting the fear of the draft into folks.
Yes, and implying that there is a sinister GOP plan in action to do this. Note, all they have to do is IMPLY and REPEAT THE INNUENDO often enough, and people soon end up believing it. They're really working this one hard, for some reason.
Yes they are. I have posted other articles on this subject. Some think I have some demented mind set to follow this subject. But, I disagree. It is important we write our local papers, call in to out local radio shows are try and stop a sure to be train wreck that seems to be going full steam by someone. At least I can say this much, the media is pushing it.
Besides, if I can serve 6 years, so can the average joe.
While you could go back and research other articles I have posted on the draft and some of my posts actually have gone down the road of of our youth serving in the military. While I think that is a great topic it must be in context and not out of fear and the continual push by the media. I think our youth could learn a lot from the military but I am not sure that this discussion fits with the media bliz on this?
It just amazes that each day there is a new article in some paper putting the fear of the draft into folks.
Because there will be a draft in the next 1-2 years. Count on it.
Just to remind everyone of Rangel's motivation:
Rangel has said he wants to see the Bush daughters drafted.
As I dwell on this (improbable) idea, I come up with many questions surrounding the idea of young women being drafted.
Will young mothers be drafted?
What about pregnant girls?
What about single moms?
Who will care for their children?
Let's assume for a moment that single moms and pregnant girls will be excused.....
Every 16 and 17 year old in the country will be trying to get pregnant. While this may sound like a wonderful thing to some of you....surely this is not what most parents wish for their daughters.
I can see it now: "No Tiffany, you can't go to the mall - you have an appointment at the in-vitro clinic for your artificial insemination"
And a great new segment of the fashion industry will be spawned: Maternity Prom Gowns!!!
And for those who don't get pregnant... what a miserable existence that would be.... "I'm infertile, so my country has sent me to war"
Obviously the topic would need more serious thought and consideration beyond Rangel's wish to see the Bush daughters in uniform.
Note also that the authors of the bills initiating a draft are Charles Rangel (House bill) and Fritz Hollings (Senate bill) and BOTH ARE DEMOCRATS. So who is pushing this? Hmmm?
The only thing the Demo-commies offer is paranoia, gloom and doom. Unfortunately, there are some mindless fools that are biting the hook. Demo tactic= using the idea of a return of the draft means more MTV demo votes. Smile, God loves the infantry. As a military retiree, I thank you for your service to our country. God Bless America and you!!! Bush/Cheney 2004
May I also thank you for your service as well. Does God love the Air Force as well as the Army Field Artillery? I ask with a smile. I enjoyed your entire post. If you have an opportunity check with the Army Times, they had an excellent oped on the Draft. I had posted it, went through but that was a no no and it was yanked. You might like it!
Chele
Really, the fact that the GOP hasn't cleaned up this bit of Peanut Man's legacy, thereby allowing the Dems to use it for this bit of demagoguery, serves as Reason #5713 that they're called "The Stupid Party".
It's true.
The MTV audience is totally convinced the draft is imminent.
My son turns 18 in 2 months and he was totally convinced that he would be drafted. Of course when I explained to him that the sponsor of the House Bill is a racist bomb-thrower, he started to understand. But the liberal brain-washing is pervasive and I must be diligent to ensure he understands the facts and reality of all news topics.
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