Rep. Rangel will seek to reinstate draft

AP via Yahoo! ^ | November 19, 2006 | AP

[Brilliant]

A senior House Democrat said Sunday he will introduce legislation to reinstate the military draft, asserting that current troop levels are insufficient to sustain possible challenges against Iran, North Korea and Iraq.

"There's no question in my mind that this president and this administration would never have invaded Iraq, especially on the flimsy evidence that was presented to the Congress, if indeed we had a draft and members of Congress and the administration thought that their kids from their communities would be placed in harm's way," said Rep. Charles Rangel (news, bio, voting record), D-N.Y.

Rangel, a veteran of the Korean War who has unsuccessfully sponsored legislation on conscription in the past, said he will propose the measure early next year.

At a time when some lawmakers are urging the military to send more troops to Iraq, "I don't see how anyone can support the war and not support the draft," he said.

Sen. Lindsey Graham (news, bio, voting record), a South Carolina Republican who is a colonel in the U.S. Air Force Standby Reserve, said he agreed that the U.S. does not have enough people in the military.

"I think we can do this with an all-voluntary service, all-voluntary Army, Air Force, Marine Corps and Navy. And if we can't, then we'll look for some other option," said Graham, who is assigned as a reserve judge to the Air Force Court of Criminal Appeals.

Rangel, incoming chairman of the tax-writing House Ways and Means Committee, said he worried the military was being strained by its overseas commitments.

"If we're going to challenge Iran and challenge North Korea and then, as some people have asked, to send more troops to Iraq, we can't do that without a draft," Rangel said.

He said having a draft would not necessarily mean everyone called to duty would have to serve. Instead, "young people (would) commit themselves to a couple of years in service to this great republic, whether it's our seaports, our airports, in schools, in hospitals," with a promise of educational benefits at the end of service.

Graham said he believes the all-voluntary military "represents the country pretty well in terms of ethnic makeup, economic background."

Repeated polls have shown that about seven in 10 Americans oppose reinstatement of the draft and officials say they do not expect to restart conscription.

Outgoing Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld told Congress in June 2005 that "there isn't a chance in the world that the draft will be brought back."

Yet the prospect of the long global fight against terrorism and the continuing U.S. commitment to stabilizing Iraq have kept the idea in the public's mind.

The military drafted conscripts during the Civil War, both world wars and between 1948 and 1973. An agency independent of the Defense Department, the Selective Service System trains, keeps an updated registry of men age 18-25 — now about 16 million — from which to supply untrained draftees that would supplement the professional all-volunteer armed forces.

Rangel and Graham appeared on "Face the Nation" on CBS.

[leadpenny]

I think the draft is a bad idea because I remember it.

How could anyone argue with that?

[freedomdefender]

Try "irrelevant".

Au contraire. Anybody who condemns other people for how they spend their free time - and who says they should be drafted because he doesn't approve of their recreational pursuits - fairly BEGS to be asked, as I did, how he spends his own time. He might be as much of a slacker, from my perspective, as he accuses those "contemptible" young people of being. I won't know until he tells me how he spends his time.

What I DO know is that he has the mindset of a busybody, overly concerned with how others spend their time and money.

[lesser_satan]

bump

[leadpenny]

College deferments are spelled out here:

http://www.sss.gov/WHHAP.HTM

[OKSooner]

"First to go should be all those late teen to late 20-somethings who seem to have time and money to stand outside of Best Buy for 3-4 days waiting to spend $500 on a PS3. So many idle hands, so many needs. If so many young people have time to waste standing in line for a toy that allows one to spend hours at a time doing nothing, then, perhaps, we do need a draft."

See how clever Rangel is? He floats the idea, and then stuff like this pops up in conservative forums and then more people take the bait and sympathize with it.

Before you know it, it's the Republicans who are gonna take those young people minding their own business and ship them off to Iraq.

Because they didn't do their algebra, of course...

[Publius6961]

So you want a return of the draft?
Yes
How old are you?
Irrelevant.
Would you be subject to the draft?
Irrelevant.
If not, would you enlist to show solidarity with the young men you want to have drafted?
Yes.

Let me get another batch of cheese to go with the next whine...

[PeteB570]

Sorry, must disagree.

The military's job is to fight wars.

Look at the fun the media is having with the few military protesters we have now.

With a draft we will pull in 90% who will suffer through their two years, doing well and get out, 5% who will find they like it at reenlist and 5% who are dragged kicking and screaming into the military and who make a 1SGs life a never ending series of IG calls.

The dems want a draft for the media attention and protests it will bring, not for helping the military.

It costs to much to train up and then release a two year draftee. Most of the military is pretty high tec these days. A three or four year draft will never work.

Look at what the D-rats want to roll into the draft, the old "Service to America (with education)"

Thanks, but no thanks.

[Bernard Marx]

How old are you? Would you be subject to the draft? If not, would you enlist to show solidarity with the young men you want to have drafted?

If it's any of your business, which it's not, I was drafted for the Korean War. What about you, freedomdefender?

[GSlob]

Due to the lack of internal cohesion in the United States the Vietnam war was lost; the same lack imperils the WOT now. You need a brain transplant.

[mware]

Student Postponements - a college student may have his induction postponed until he finishes the current semester or, if a senior, the end of the academic year. A high school student may have his induction postponed until he graduates or until he reaches age 20. Appealing a Classification - A man may appeal his classification to a Selective Service Appeal Board.

The folks at Berkley are not going to be liking this very much.

[Raycpa]

Deuteronomy 20

4 For the LORD your God is the one who goes with you to fight for you against your enemies to give you victory."

5 The officers shall say to the army: "Has anyone built a new house and not dedicated it? Let him go home, or he may die in battle and someone else may dedicate it.

6 Has anyone planted a vineyard and not begun to enjoy it? Let him go home, or he may die in battle and someone else enjoy it.

7 Has anyone become pledged to a woman and not married her? Let him go home, or he may die in battle and someone else marry her."

8 Then the officers shall add, "Is any man afraid or fainthearted? Let him go home so that his brothers will not become disheartened too."

9 When the officers have finished speaking to the army, they shall appoint commanders over it.

[BurbankKarl]

Someone needs to corner Rangel on why his state and CA are the highest in non-compliance in the country with 18 year olds registering.

[paulat]

Can you just imagine draftees that don't want to be there (Iraq, Afghanistan) in the first place, how would they react in a dangerous situation with our soldiers who are fighting because they volunteered to protect their country?

Are you saying Klinger wouldn't have defended his unit?

[Publius6961]

A draft doesn't have to be limited to military personnel. Draftees good be put into police departments, federal or state forest services, the Border Patrol, Homeland Security, TSA, etc.

We already got way too many grammar school dropouts in those welfare... errr... jobs.

If they are educated enough to be competent at those or any jobs, why do they need a promise of "educational benefits"?

[freedomdefender]

If it's any of your business, which it's not, I was drafted for the Korean War. What about you, freedomdefender?

I missed the Vietnam Draft. And I wouldn't force a draft on anyone else - unless there's a national emergency. If you served in Korea, thank you. But don't tell today's young people that the government knows best how they should spend their lives - and that the government should be able to order them into the military. The draft is not appropriate for a free society, except in the highest national emergency. Frankly, neither Korea or Vietnam qualified as such, so the draft was wrong in both cases. It would also be wrong now.

[mware]

Pete I would be willing to bet that a good portion of those drafted would have to be placed in special platoons just to be able to be phyically fit enough just to complete basic training.

[leadpenny]

If the civilian and military leadership fears a draft because of potential protests, then one of two things is possible:

- The leadership has no nads.

- The war ain't worth fighting.

[leadpenny]

I guess they'd have four choices then:


- Serve
- CO status
- Jail
- Canada (although, I'm not sure that would be open this time.)

[freedomdefender]

Due to the lack of internal cohesion in the United States the Vietnam war was lost; the same lack imperils the WOT now. You need a brain transplant.

You're arguing for a draft in the name of "internal cohesion" - but then you say we lost Vietnam because we didn't have "internal cohesion". Buddy, we had a draft for Vietnam, in case you never knew. Guess it didn't give us "internal cohesion." What really lacks "internal cohesion," is your logic. They have drafts in dictator-run countries. "Internal cohesion" is what dictators want above all else.

[SuziQ]

Too many young people today have it way too easy and think it always has been and always will be and they never have to lift a finger.

That's only the case if they're living with Mom and Dad and not working, or their parents are footing the entire bill for college, and the kid doesn't care if he graduates or not. Either way, it is enabling behavior by the parents that allow this perpetual childhood.

If they want to live at home, they either need to be in college or working full time. I'm not even going to say they need to pay rent; that's between them and their parents. But I WILL say that maybe folks need to get out of the attitude that parents need to foot the entire bill for a college education. Let the kids take out loans, with the parents co-signing. Maybe this will require them to go to a state school for a couple of years and transfer to a bigger name school later. Maybe the parents take out the loans for the first two years of the expensive school and let the kid pick up the last two years. Whatever the plan is, the young person needs to be responsible for his or her own college education. There would be a lot less partying and a lot more seriousness about actually learning something.