Sending women, rich boys to the front

Manchester Union Leader ^ | 1/5/03 | BERNADETTE MALONE

[Jean S]

IN PURSUIT of making the U.S. military "look like America," liberal New York City congressman Charlie Rangel (D) is pushing Washington to bring back the draft.

He thinks America's military relies too heavily on poor and minority soldiers, and that well-off whites are underrepresented when America goes to war, as it might soon against Iraq. He wants to see more whites and upper-middle class soldiers, so the risk of death in war is more evenly distributed throughout society. Rangel is taking this logic so far that he wants to draft women, too.

"What we're contemplating is a new draft that would include women and men," George Dalley, Rangel's top Washington staffer, explained to me on Thursday. "Women and men would be treated equally in that regard." What a shame that equality, and not military effectiveness, is Rangel's objective. A draft is only justified if more men — and Heaven forbid, more women — are needed to defend America from attack.

Forcing 18-year-old women into military service just to spread out the risks of war is an odious idea. It's certainly the death knell of a civilized, chivalrous society, not to mention a very expensive undertaking for the taxpayer, considering the extra physical training and accommodations young women would require.

But as gut-churning as the idea of drafting women is, Rangel's idea deserves credit for being logically consistent. He virtually confesses his primary reason for wanting a draft is not so that America can have the finest, most elite fighting force in the world — as it now does thanks to its highly motivated, all-volunteer personnel (men and women both). His primary reason for introducing a draft is social engineering — the manipulation of equality.

In a Dec. 31 New York Times op-ed piece, Rangel plainly states: "Throughout much of our history, Americans have been asked to shoulder the burden of war equally. That's why I will ask Congress next week to consider and support legislation I will introduce to resume the military draft." (Dalley admits that "resume" is an "inaccurate" descriptor, as Rangel's conscription of women makes this a different draft from the draft that ended in 1973.)

Rangel himself was a black inner city youth who served in the Army and was decorated in the Korean War. He became a well-known congressman from Harlem and is now the top-ranking Democrat on the powerful House Ways and Means Committee, which writes U.S. tax law.

As a veteran, Rangel should understand that people who want to be in the military perform much better than people who are conscripted. And having seen combat, Rangel, of all people, should realize that only a special minority of girls is physically and emotionally steeled enough to serve in a military that is serious about its objective: killing our enemies before they kill us.

Rangel is right that Americans need to consider the body bag-factor in war: that many sons and daughters in military service will not return home alive when politicians send them to war in complex, far away places such as Iraq. But what serious, moral nation crafts its defense policy by measuring the bank accounts and skin pigmentation of the heroes and heroines who come home slumbering under the flag?

The most moral thing a country can do in war time is to invite its most motivated people to step forward: rich or poor, black or white, male or female. These volunteers will perform the best and keep American casualties to a minimum.

It may be the case that most of these volunteers happen to be male, minorities, or of modest means. But America's aim, and Charlie Rangel's objective, ought to be to limit the number of body bags returning from war. It certainly shouldn't be to distribute those body bags equally among blacks and whites, rich and poor, and boys and girls. That kind of logic only leads to more body bags.

Bernadette Malone is the former editorial page editor.

[BooBoo1000]

Draft the women and put them in the artillary, let them hear a 155 bark all day and night. They would not be on the front lines but would still be in Compat.

[Henrietta]

Rangel himself was a black inner city youth who served in the Army and was decorated in the Korean War. He became a well-known congressman from Harlem and is now the top-ranking Democrat on the powerful House Ways and Means Committee, which writes U.S. tax law.

Great, so now we have this idot Socialist writing our tax laws. No wonder they are such a mess!

[livius]

Actually, I've heard that theory that it's an attempt to revive the anti-war movement, but I think this is much too roundabout a method to really have that goal.

I actually think Rangel (who wavers between being Mr. Black Nationalist Nut and Mr. Almost Conservative) thinks the draft would be a good idea, but he doesn't want to put it in patriotic terms because that wouldn't fly with his party. So he's got to make it sound negative and bring in the (non-existent) racial element.

[Sungirl]

I'd like to see the hollywood crowd have their kids join....

[Caipirabob]

So the Democrats now feel that arming and training a bunch of "racist elitist rich white kids" to kill is a good thing and there should be a program for it?

Isn't this circular thinking for the rats?

[laconic]

Oh, I agree with you on that point, Ladyjane. McNamara's son actually had the nerve to lead antiwar demonstrations while his fool of an old man was Secretary of Defense and was chief in implementing an idiot's war strategy! While orchestrating this atrocity of a battle plan that was the direct cause of death of thousands of young Americans of his draft-deferred son's age, McNamara had the gall to allow his son's out of town antiwar buddies to headquarter and sleep in his home's basement during the demonstrations. After he left office, it is a well known fact that McNamara ran all over Georgetown cocktail parties arguing what a mistake the war had been so that he could be accepted back in cafe society. The fact that McNamara's lying and bootlicking worked shows in his continuing membership on the board of directors of The Washington Post and his service as a pallbearer at the recent funeral of that newspaper's imperious owner, Katherine Graham.

[Drippy]

Actually if the draft is revived making military service mandatory might be a good way to go.A lot of liberal anti-war nuts might end up learning the neccesity of war and the realitys of our enemy's motivations.

[nightdriver]

"Forcing 18-year-old women into military service just to spread out the risks of war is an odious idea. It's certainly the death knell of a civilized, chivalrous society,....."

Why limit it to 18-year-old women? Why not send former congresperson Patsy Schroeder in? She was awfully determined to put women in combat.

[nothingnew]

Rangel ain't "bonafide", but he is certifiable.

FMCDH

[optimistically_conservative]

There was a time when military service was seen as a civic duty. We have other civic duties, i.e., jury duty.

Personally, I wouldn't object to a draft, two years, and use the additional forces on our border for the extent of the "war on terrorism," "war on drugs," and the numerous other operations other than war that we perform now.

I'd also re-establish a stronger foreign Peace Corps for the ones that fail out of basic or are otherwise deemed undesirable for military service. They would go to Afganistan, Bosnia, Kosova, Haiti, Africa, etc.

The only problem with the draft is making sure that influence peddling and undeserved exemptions don't corrupt the system. Consider how corrupt our systems are, and the low civic responsibility in the public, that may be the most difficult aspect.

[optimistically_conservative]

We women have the babies, Bernard (roughly during the timeframe in which you want to draft us) is that "fair"?

Would it be "fair" to ask women to postpone their reproductive right for a year or two after high school? Or are you concerned about drafting the 18 and 19 year old women who are already mothers (perhaps multiple times over).

[nomorecameljocks]

This causes me again to inquire if there is any possiblity of bringing charges against McNamara before he dies. Surely there is something he can be charged with besides ignorance. Treason would be a stretch but I don't think there is a statute of limitations-might at least cost him a bunch of legal fees and humiliation if a prosecutor can be found willing to do the deed.

[koax]

yes.

and it's an old communist and new left idea, reported by david horowitz in his book "radical son", p. 54:

in our political catechism, the suffering of the negro people was always a central image. the crime against the negro was like an american crucifixion, and we constantly used it to pierce the veil of american benevolence, revealing the inequality and oppression underneath.

amusing, was that horowitz later on the same page admits that his only contact with negroes was with his parents' house keeper! both parents were members of the communist party.

[Uncle Meat]

People think the draft is such a good idea don't realize how worthless draftees would be in this day and age.You wouldn't be able to get most of these tackle-faced punks to do shit when they don't want to be there in the first place.It would take the Old Army style of boot camp to motivate the type of spoiled youth they have today.That means the drill sargeants would have to resort to wall to wall counsiling like the old days and burying cigarette butts six feet deep,just to have to dig it back up so they'd know what direction it was facing, type of mental and physical conditioning they use to do.Hell,I heard nowadays the cadre can't even cuss at the recruits any more.

[lavaroise]

aking this logic so far that he wants to draft women, too.

Is there no womb and no sanctuary that will not be desecrated and gutted by Democrats and liberals? Isnt there anything sacred in their lives except for their politics and twisted evil plans? Where is the autonomy? Children gutters, that is what they are.

[laconic]

I believe two wounded veterans sued McNamara in a civil complaint for fraud and deceit after the publication of his trashy book about the Vietnam War that his friend clinton (much defended by McNamara in newspaper columns over the years) publicly used as a defense for his draft dodging. Unfortunately, I believe they lost the case due to the statute of limitations. So it appears that the only penalty McNamara sustains is in the court of public opinion (when he did his "book tour", his handlers prescreened questions to avoid veterans and relatives of KIA/MIAs who tended to pin him down publicly on his lies); nonetheless, McNamara was royally roasted for his wretched attempt at self-justification by sources as diverse as the New York Times editorial page and Charley Reese. As McNamara is now in his eighties, it would appear that the only court he will face is that of the Final Judgment. I wouldn't want to be his lawyer in that forum.

[Drippy]

"It would take the Old Army style of boot camp to motivate the type of spoiled youth they have today."

Not a problem!

[Timesink]

Screw Rangel. There is not going to be a reinstatement of the draft, period. Let him bleat; his statements change nothing.

[per loin]

Notice the propaganda in the headline. Not women and men, nor girls and boys. It's women and boys.

[jeremiah]

Let all of the illegal aliens be considered as cannon fodder, if they survive, and serve conspicuously, they can become citizens. That will fill up a lot of the lower ranks, the upper ranks will be American born citizens. The only problem with this is, the survival of the nation would be borne by those with maybe not the best wishes in mind, of the greater good. Kinda like our economic survival.