News on the Draft Issue from dailydraftdispatch.org

Bob
Herbert: The scent of failure The assembly line of carnage
in George W. Bush's war in Iraq continues unabated. Nightmares don't
last this long, so the death and destruction must be real. You know you're
in serious trouble when the politicians and the military brass don't
even bother suggesting that there's light at the end of the tunnel. The
only thing ahead is a deep and murderous darkness.
Over
5,500 soldiers don't show up for occupation duty But not
all young people are eager to die for Mr. Bush. Military recruiters are
having difficulty finding enough cannon fodder to fill their quotas.
More significantly, men and women already in uniform are rebelling. They're
refusing to fight for Mr. Bush and his secret ambitions. They're deserting
by the thousands. According to "60 Minutes" last week (quoting
the Pentagon), more than 5,500 servicemen have deserted since the beginning
of Mr. Bush's war.
Military
recruiters find reluctance over combat hinders duty "This
morning I had a mom laugh at me and hang up the phone," [the Marine
recruiter] said. For Marine recruiters, and their Army and Army National
Guard counterparts to an even greater extent, these are challenging times
and represent the first test of the all-volunteer military since the
draft ended in 1973.
Reservists
May Face Longer Tours of Duty To avoid pushing reserve forces
to the breaking point, the official also said, a temporary increase of
30,000 troops in active-duty ranks that was authorized last year will
probably need to be made permanent, especially if U.S. troop levels in
Iraq remain high. He said significant troop levels may be required in
Iraq for four or five more years.
Bring
back the draft - with options Since
Bush does not have to face re-election, and since the Army is strapped
for manpower, it is a given that the draft will return in his second
term. Since half the population (of voters) voted against Bush, and his
Iraq war, it's safe to assume there would be plenty of marches, even
riots, when the draft would return.
Without
draft, occupation should be terminated Mr.
Scowcroft appeared at the New America Foundation with Zbigniew Brzezinski,
Jimmy Carter's national security adviser, who declared the Iraq war a
moral, political and military failure. If we can't send 500,000 troops,
spend $500 billion and agree to resume the draft, then the conflict should
be "terminated," he said, adding that far from the Jeffersonian
democracy Mr. Bush extols, the most we can hope for is a Shiite-controlled
theocracy.
Homeless
Veterans: Soldiers Go From Fighting in Iraq to Fighting A New War At
Home Now, with the occupation of Iraq and some 150,000 troops
deployed there and thousands more who have returned, a new generation
of soldiers are facing the same realities experienced by their colleagues
who fought in Vietnam and in other conflicts. Some of them are suffering
from the effects of depleted uranium; others from posttraumatic stress
disorder or mental illness sparked by their time in the zone of combat.
Others find they have no place to live.
War-resister
says comrades killed civilians A
former Marine on the front lines of Iraq, a witness for an American seeking
to become the first U.S. service member granted asylum in Canada, said
Wednesday several men in his unit were “psychopaths” who
enjoyed killing unarmed Iraqi civilians who posed no threat.
Soldier
has cousin shoot him in leg to avoid occupation duty Take
Army Spec. Marquise J. Roberts of Hinesville, Ga. He had served seven
months in Iraq, returned home, and then was scheduled for redeployment
there. While on a visit to family members in Philadelphia, he allegedly
persuaded a cousin to shoot him in the leg so he could avoid going back
to Iraq.
U.S.
Army Reserve Becoming "Broken Force" Faced
with lengthy and grueling deployments in Iraq and Afghanistan, the U.S.
Army reserve is rapidly turning into “a broken force” and
may not be able to meet its operational requirements in the future, its
commander acknowledged in a memorandum made public late Jan. 5.
Brethren
Agree to Revive 'Alternative
Service' Draft Programs Leaders of the Church of the Brethren say they
will follow through on a request from the Selective Service to have "alternative
service" programs in place for conscientious objectors if a draft
is reinstated.
DOD
Notice: Serve Your Community and the Nation - Become a Selective Service
System Local Board Member The Selective Service System wants
to hear from men and women in the community who might be willing to serve
as members of a local draft board. (September, 2003)

Talk
of a draft grows despite denials by White House
The
US occupation of Iraq has led to talk of a new draft
Appeal
for draft board volunteers revives memories of Vietnam era