Posted on 11/22/2006 5:27:30 AM PST by kellynla
The question of whether we need a universal military draft will be important as long as this country is placing thousands of young men and women in harm's way in Iraq. As long as Americans are being shipped off to war, then everyone should be vulnerable, not just those who, because of economic circumstances, are attracted by lucrative enlistment bonuses and educational incentives. Even before the first bomb was dropped, before the first American casualty, I have opposed the war in Iraq. I continue to believe that decision-makers would never have supported the invasion if more of them had family members in line for deployment.
Those who do the fighting have no choice; when the flag goes up, they salute and follow orders. So far, more than 2,800 have died and 21,000 have been wounded. They are our unrecognized American heroes.
The great majority of people bearing arms for this country in Iraq are from the poorer communities in our inner cities and rural areas, places where enlistment bonuses are up to $40,000 and thousands in educational benefits are very attractive. For people who have college as an option, those incentives - at the risk to one's life - don't mean a thing.
(Excerpt) Read more at nydailynews.com ...
Let's draft all the illegal aliens. We'll fill the ranks with the ones we catch, and maybe they'll stop coming, or flee to Canada. Either way, we'll solve the staffing and immigration problems in one shot!
LBJ gave the draft a bad name with his phoney war and Nixon was forced to go along with doing away with the it in a knee-jerk reaction to the Left.
The corruption should have been taken out of the system but doing away with the draft was a mistake.
Oh, and 18-year-old women should have to register along with the men.
Gobble, gobble!
I had noted Rangel's repeated calls for a draft over the past few years, but never looked into his reasons. I had given him credit for wanting to encourage broad-based national service, but reading what he writes here, he is clearly challenging the President to call for a draft specifically for the current military operations only. I don't buy the class conflict stuff he puts out, but the idea of just about everyone being called upon to perform some kind of service to their country might not be a bad one (even though it restricts freedom). But not just for an emergency period, but ongoing, something people would grow up expecting to happen. The draft during Vietnam was not an ad hoc policy, as I recall. There had been a draft all through the 1950's and into the 60's. Getting rid of the idea of (sort of) universal service by ending the draft was a reaction to our problems in Vietnam, a way of reducing the political heat, and, looking back, I think we made a mistake in ever getting rid of it.
We always use the 'bread-based' stuffing... :)
LMAO!!!
...and give them all the training and weapons they need to do a proper invasion.
Sometimes my tagline is the only appropriate response to a particular article.
Beat you by less than a minute, but you're right.
I like mine too! LOL
And the caissons keep rolling along... :)
Is Charlie against the poor bettering themselves in the military, or is he just against people in the military dying for their country? Rich people run a far greater risk of dying by auto accident or poor doctors than they do by being in the military. Charlie is nothing more than a race hustling liar who probably knows the truth, but since the truth doesn't further his agenda, he prefers the other option. New Yorks finest.
The draft was a bad idea in 'Nam and it's still a bad idea. How can you trust somebody in combat who is likely to bug out at the first opportunity? When you're gettin' shot at you don't have time to babysit some draftee.
Bless you for your service.
I'm in a similar situation: I am a 26-year-old stockbroker, homeowner, graduated summa cum laude, have no college loans...and I enlisted earlier this year. It was the proudest day of my life. I think that someone needs to start an ad campaign about the face of the military, to remind these dipsh*ts who's covering their a**es out there.
Unrecognized by liberals. We conservatives have been shoutring our thanks and admiration for years, Charlie.
The one nice thing about Rangel's proposal is that it provokes people into talking about things like this.
I agree with expanding the selective service registry, as well. While I was part of the volunteer Army, and am somewhat biased against the draft, I got a chance to work with a number of women and gays, who serve on a discretionary basis. (On a side note, gays, both male and female, tend to make better soldiers than straight women.)If there's to be a registry, I say register them all, every last man, woman, and homo. ;-)
So long as your physically capable, you should have your name in the hat. Saying that anyone CAN be forced to serve but only straight males HAVE to is inequitable, isn't it?
and lets not forget the Draft Riots during the Civil War in Rangels' own beloved New Yawk City...
Have I got a story to tell you! Later.
Gotta go to work. Good post, btw.
I disagree.
Those of us who served want only those who WANT to serve with us.
If they don't want us, we don't want them.
Semper Fi,
Kelly
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