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.
Are you of draft age, or older? If not, will you volunteer, to show solidarity with the young men you want to have drafted?
LOL, you took the words right off my keyboard!
The Dems must be very desperate for a new class of victims, but how are they planning to blame someone else for this one?
He might want to consider that if his insinuations that the draft was just a way to kill young black and brown people he would be killing his voting base.
By the way, I think a years stint for all young in some form of service to the nation would help to remind them that freedom is not free.
His screen name may give you a clue.
You can find a PS3 for $500? I'll stand outside for that deal myself.
Rangel's goal- a military force that serves as a giagantic sop to the poor. A european type military civil service armed forces.
You're willing to have others forced into the military (I'm not saying that to sound anti-military - I'm not - just to be accurate: The draft would force young people into the military). Would you voluntarily sign up as well, to show solidarity with the young men whom you want to force into the military?
Nobody is looking at the elephant in the room....
I bet somewhere in him, Charlie knows that the military may save a generation of young black men.
A good number of draftees of the 50s and 60s decided to stay longer than two years.
Practice what you preach. I said that it's the way of totalitarian governments to seek "social cohesion" by forcing people into government-dictated pursuits. That's a fact, Jack.
Do you work more than one job? Or are you retired?
Do you have time to camp all day in front of a toy store? Did you ever?
I agree. And it's the young people today who VOLUNTARILY sign up for the military, they don't have to be forced into it. I don't know why it's so popular on this forum to trash young people. What if I went around saying, "Retired people are so damn lazy. Why can't they do anything?"
Can't get anything past you.
"they can be dangerous to their fellow troops" - I thought the same thing when I read the article. 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? Like your son and my son (who is also an only child). So now we have the Dims wanting to reinstate the draft, all the while threatening to cut war funding. Horrors!
God bless your son for his service!
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