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Rep. Rangel will seek to reinstate draft
AP via Yahoo! ^ | November 19, 2006 | AP

Posted on 11/19/2006 10:30:36 AM PST by 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.


TOPICS: Politics/Elections; War on Terror
KEYWORDS: conscription; draft; iraq; rangel; war
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Cox & Forkum cartoon from the 2004 election cycle. Back when demorats where scaring young people into believing Bush would reinstate the draft if elected.

261 posted on 11/19/2006 1:06:56 PM PST by rightgrafix
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To: The_Media_never_lie
Rangle is a Korean War Vet.

On which side? :)

Seems that military service hasn't helped him at all.

262 posted on 11/19/2006 1:07:08 PM PST by meyer (Bring back the Contract with America and you'll bring back the Republican majority.)
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To: Professor Kill

There was a different mid set during WW2, I recall watching some of the men who were members of the real Band of Brothers and they said that some of the guys in their neighborhoods who were qualified as 4F, killed themselves because of the shame.


263 posted on 11/19/2006 1:09:29 PM PST by mware (By all that you hold dear... on this good earth... I bid you stand! Men of the West!)
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To: Mo1
Didn't he vote against his bill the last time?

Yes, of course. It's simply a ploy to get millions of people to pay attention, freak out and speak out against the war.

264 posted on 11/19/2006 1:09:35 PM PST by Cementjungle
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To: Howlin

Life is going to be grand for the next eight years until the dems are removed from the leadership roles in the House.


265 posted on 11/19/2006 1:19:05 PM PST by deport
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To: GSlob
"Yes, a draft could bring in numbers but also a whole lot more headaches."
In the broader picture , a draft [without loopholes, or with very few of them] can also bring in increased social cohesion. This ought to be considered as a valuable societal benefit regardless of all the rest.

---
Even at the height of the Viet Nam War we needed only 1/3 of each year class in the military. So loopholes were rampant because they needed such a low percentage.

So with no loopholes where do YOU plan to put all the bodies, since you're against loopholes? How are we going to afford a military of that size?

This is a Democrat con job, don't fall for it.
266 posted on 11/19/2006 1:20:04 PM PST by Cheburashka (World's only Spatula City certified spatula repair and maintenance specialist!!!)
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To: Always Right

Nixon ended the draft, Carter reinstated the draft.


267 posted on 11/19/2006 1:20:15 PM PST by television is just wrong (Our sympathies are misguided with illegal aliens...)
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To: scannell
Isn't it just like a Democrat, to take something like National Security, realize we may need a Draft and then turn it into some type of social/public service organization.\?

No different than certain Republicans (not you, but you know who I mean) agitating to bring back the draft as some kind of social experiment. "We need to get the kids away from their PlayStations and Nintendos and teach them how hard it was in 1943! That'll straighten them out! Never mind family structures, media influences, or public morality, the draft is good for what ails ya!"

The draft, as a descendant of the militia and the fyrd, exists to levy troops for military purposes only. It's not there to provide jobs to youths, to instill values, to beautify the environment, or to increase social cohesion. It exists -- when it does -- to provide a surge of man-power for the enterprise of breaking things and killing people.

Other societies do have a perpetual draft, and that works for them, but that doesn't mean it will work in the highly-individualistic American culture. The draft denies individuals a great deal of their freedom, sometimes their lives; infringing on liberty to this degree requires a great deal of justification. No draft supporter from either side has justified the idea to my satisfaction.

IMHO, YMMV.

268 posted on 11/19/2006 1:20:23 PM PST by Caesar Soze
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To: darkwing104
That will teach the kids what happens when you vote for Democrats...

Play with fire and you're going to get burned

269 posted on 11/19/2006 1:22:50 PM PST by Charlespg (Peace= When we trod the ruins of Mecca and Medina under our infidel boots.)
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To: Caesar Soze
Exactly. If the Democrats were really FOR helping us WIN the war, they'd pledge to provide full funding to transform our military and allow it to deploy more troops to the Iraq theater. This is political dishonesty since it doesn't address the real issue. Its a political diversion and the American people should see right through it.

"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." -Manuel II Paleologus

270 posted on 11/19/2006 1:24:23 PM PST by goldstategop (In Memory Of A Dearly Beloved Friend Who Lives On In My Heart Forever)
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To: Gideon Reader

http://www.sss.gov/


271 posted on 11/19/2006 1:24:49 PM PST by Gondring (I'll give up my right to die when hell freezes over my dead body!)
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To: Brilliant; jan in Colorado
Dontcha love the way they talk about protecting yourself for future US citizenship and government benefits?

From http://www.sss.gov/:

ATTENTION, UNDOCUMENTED MALES
& IMMIGRANT SERVICING GROUPS!

If you are a man ages 18 through 25 and living in the U.S., then you must register with Selective Service. It’s the law. You can register at any U.S. Post Office and do not need a social security number. When you do obtain a social security number, let Selective Service know. Provide a copy of your new social security number card; include your complete name, date of birth, Selective Service registration number, and current mailing address; and mail to the Selective Service System, P.O. Box 94636, Palatine, IL 60094-4636.

Be sure to register before your 26th birthday. After that, it’s too late!

Selective Service does not collect any information which would indicate whether or not you are undocumented. You want to protect yourself for future U.S. citizenship and other government benefits and programs by registering with Selective Service. Do it today.

272 posted on 11/19/2006 1:29:12 PM PST by Gondring (I'll give up my right to die when hell freezes over my dead body!)
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To: Cheburashka

I look [or try to look] further than the draft numerical requirements vis. the numbers in the male age cohort. Increased societal cohesion means, among other things, that it would become increasingly difficult to lose a war - be it Vietnam war or WOT - through the domestic media. I look for the societal benefits primarily in this area. And the army would not be that large, either - ca. 3 million, with 2 yrs service.


273 posted on 11/19/2006 1:29:55 PM PST by GSlob
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To: pandoraou812
If there was to be a draft I would suggest that they take the ones who drop out of school 1st.

And this was a major impetus of grade inflation. Schools harboring people and being downgraded to keep those who didn't want to be there but didn't want to be drafted.

Unintended consequences stink.

274 posted on 11/19/2006 1:31:52 PM PST by Gondring (I'll give up my right to die when hell freezes over my dead body!)
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To: CatoRenasci
Government, by its nature, coerces people into doing things for the good of society as a whole. School taxes are an example. Most other taxes are another. Try speed limits, building codes, etc.

I really don't care if our younger citizens develop "resentment" because they're coerced into military service. I'm quite sure there was resentment to the draft on the part of some in WWI and WWII. I know one of my cousin's wasn't happy when he got a second helping in Korea, AFTER he served in WWII. That's why it's called civic DUTY.

The draft was highly successful at fielding large enough armies to meet the needs of the United States for over sixty years. It wasn't stopped because it was a failure. It died because of a lack of political will on the part of the government, fueled by a canard that only poor whites and blacks were drafted [apparently middle class, non Ivy League college students and high school grads didn't count].

I got out of the military 35 years ago. Until a second cousin enlisted in the Air Force a couple of months back, NO male in my family [and there's a bunch] has deigned to serve. That's wrong.


There is a growing disconnect between the military culture, and the societal culture -and it's widening. It's been discussed on other threads. Compound that with the fact that fewer and fewer of our elected representatives have either military experience, nor at best, any comprehension of how the services work, or what they need, or at worst the contempt of Kerry, or the loathing of Clinton, and you have a potential long term recipe for disaster. Within one generation of Rome doing away with conscription, and Marius' professionalization of the Legions; Rome itself was invaded twice by its own army [ Sulla and Caesar].

As for your suggestion, Heinlein "Starship Troopers", although he limited the franchise and office to military veterans.
275 posted on 11/19/2006 1:42:02 PM PST by PzLdr ("The Emperor is not as forgiving as I am" - Darth Vader)
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To: leadpenny

Bump leadpenny!


276 posted on 11/19/2006 1:42:23 PM PST by TexKat (Just because you did not see it or read it, that does not mean it did or did not happen.)
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To: mware
There was a different mid set during WW2, I recall watching some of the men who were members of the real Band of Brothers and they said that some of the guys in their neighborhoods who were qualified as 4F, killed themselves because of the shame.

My Dad recieved a medical discharge during WW2, and you are quite correct; the shame of it endured in our family for at least 40 years. As an aside, he was tall and very skinny, and they thought he had some condition that would kill him in a few years. Just what that condition was, was never said (To me anyway ). He's still alive now, and 88.

277 posted on 11/19/2006 1:45:36 PM PST by Red Boots
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To: Jim Noble
We have no control over the scale of the mission.

Then double the pay. Unless you want an army thats nothing but a social welfare Peace Corp, like the European armies. Thinking we'll go back to the army of the WWII is idiotic.

278 posted on 11/19/2006 1:50:47 PM PST by Nonstatist
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To: Nonstatist
Thinking we'll go back to the army of the WWII is idiotic.

Why is that?

279 posted on 11/19/2006 1:52:05 PM PST by Jim Noble (To preserve the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity)
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To: Brad from Tennessee
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.

The Border Patrol has enough problems with corruption from people volunteering. The last thing we need is draftees.

280 posted on 11/19/2006 1:52:11 PM PST by Ajnin (I)
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