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.
MAny of them are working several jobs to pay college bills. Many are saddled with college debt that will take a decade or more to pay off. With housing prices the way they are these days, few can afford a home (at least on the West or East coasts). So, they have a few electronic gadgets. Why does that earn your contempt?
What do you do with your time to be able to say that young people have it "too easy"? Do you work more than one job? Or are you retired?
I signed up with the selective service when I turned 18 under Reagan.
Oh, so now Rangel is a hawk who wants to go kick butt in Iran and North Korea, eh? But... but... THEY didn't attack us on 9/11!! And that's our only criteria for war now, far as I can tell...
The more they act and open their mouths, the better chances we have of getting the Senate, House and WH back and keeping it for a while longer...
Go ahead, rat patrol.....get those jaws a movin......
Social cohesion is the goal of totalitarian states. Freedom is the goal of the United States.
Let's put it this way: people with responsibilities do not have time to stand in line at Best Buy for 3 days.
Idle time is best spent reading. I read about 20 books a year. I am currently reading Grant's Memoirs. Besides history, I am a big fan of American and Russian literature.
It has ???
This is not in quotes, so I assume it is the opinion of, John Heilprin, the writer of the article.
Nice subtle way of injecting an opinion, not a fact.
Rangel's had this in mind for years. Its his way of sharing the misery.
wait, I thought they wanted to pull out of Iraq not immerse more soldiers into it.
So you want a return of the draft? 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?
Bring it on, Charlie. It'll be the Democrats' kids who protest and go to Canada.
We should have had the draft reinstated in Sept 01, and it should have included women.
If the draft were reinstated only 21-year-olds would be drafted in any given year. If more were needed in that year they would go to the 22-year-olds for that year.
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A BAD idea. As a military member, I only want people who want to stand next to me during war. It is too dangerous to have people who are forced to be in the military. It would be a disaster if this is implemented. Graham is getting more and more of my contempt. I have tried to keep an open mind to his craziness especially since I have no say in his state, but he seems to be getting worse. Please don't allow this to happen!!!!
Odd, isn't it? /sarcasm off
If we had a national emergency, a draft might be necessary, but to institute a draft because you want to force young people to spend their time in ways that YOU want them to spend it, smacks of a dictator's mentality.
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