Ronnie Ron
11-06-2003, 10:19 PM
Oiling up the draft machine?
The Pentagon is quietly moving to fill draft board vacancies
nationwide. While officials say there's no cause to worry, some
experts aren't so sure.
- - - - - - - - - - - -
By Dave Lindorff
Nov. 3, 2003 | The community draft boards that became
notorious for sending reluctant young men off to Vietnam have
languished sinced the early 1970s, their membership ebbing and
their purpose all but lost when the draft was ended. But a few
weeks ago, on an obscure federal Web site devoted to the war on
terrorism, the Bush administration quietly began a public
campaign to bring the draft boards back to life. Especially for
those who were of age to fight in the Vietnam, it is an ominous
flashback of a message. Even floating the idea of a draft in the
months before an election would be politically explosive, and
the Pentagon last week was adamant that the push to staff up the
draft boards is not a portent of things to come. Increasingly,
however, military experts and even some influential members of
Congress are suggesting that if Defense Secretary Donald
Rumsfeld's prediction of a "long, hard slog" in Iraq and
Afghanistan proves accurate, the U.S. may have no choice but to
consider a draft to fully staff the nation's military in a time
of global instability.
The Pentagon is quietly moving to fill draft board vacancies
nationwide. While officials say there's no cause to worry, some
experts aren't so sure.
- - - - - - - - - - - -
By Dave Lindorff
Nov. 3, 2003 | The community draft boards that became
notorious for sending reluctant young men off to Vietnam have
languished sinced the early 1970s, their membership ebbing and
their purpose all but lost when the draft was ended. But a few
weeks ago, on an obscure federal Web site devoted to the war on
terrorism, the Bush administration quietly began a public
campaign to bring the draft boards back to life. Especially for
those who were of age to fight in the Vietnam, it is an ominous
flashback of a message. Even floating the idea of a draft in the
months before an election would be politically explosive, and
the Pentagon last week was adamant that the push to staff up the
draft boards is not a portent of things to come. Increasingly,
however, military experts and even some influential members of
Congress are suggesting that if Defense Secretary Donald
Rumsfeld's prediction of a "long, hard slog" in Iraq and
Afghanistan proves accurate, the U.S. may have no choice but to
consider a draft to fully staff the nation's military in a time
of global instability.