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.
"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..."
And so what is the point here? I bet they would not have voted for WWII if women could have been drafted. So what?
Isn't it just like Rengel's generation of socialist democrats to protest the most when they were of draft age, but as soon as they have power, insist younger generations give more than they did?
"And so what is the point here?"
To keep blaming Bush, of course.
Rove, you magnificent bastard!
Wasn't it Nixon who can rid of the draft.
Rangle is a Korean War Vet.
The draft is bad for the military because today's soldier is a professional with lots of training and good morale.
A draftee is none of those things.
Democrats WANT MILITARY FAILURE. Instituting a draft is the way to assure that.
That may be the only thing I agree with Charlie Rangel about. (Speaking as a draftee myself.)
Yep.
Please add to the title in parenthesis: (Dems AGAIN attempt to aim at own feet.)
D2
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.
HE IS OBSESSED.
Wow. I would have sworn he brought this up before to screw with the Repubs. I figured he brought it to the floor to see how many Repubs would vote for it and then complain about it in the media. But I do see the point of wanting the military to fail. Those in the military don't want draftees. Draftees don't want to be there, thus they can be dangerous to their fellow troops.
Thanks, my mistake,..
We need to do whatever we can on here (the Internet) and in real life to let everyone know, especially kids of draft age, about this bill. If Hillary thinks she will float into the White House on the "let's draft everyone's children" plank, we should help her.
Rangel is going with the current to destroy individualism.
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.\?
HE IS AN ABCESS.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.