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The Occupation and the Draft
Draft Opposition
Resources / Ideas The draft is back. Liberal Charley Rangel is getting his way. The only problem - the ones who are being drafted are the ones who thought they had an end date and are already serving on the front lines in Iraq. (See articles and links below:
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/storydisplay.cfm?storyID=3541675&thesection=news&thesubsection=world
Indeed this is a form of draft forced servitude in the armed forces in this case by those who initially volunteered have fulfilled their contract obligations but now want the hell out before one of those roadside bombs transforms them into human roadkill. I have seen recently, in addition to Rangel, various activists advancing pro-draft arguments and in my view, twisting them like a pretzel into somehow being anti-war positions. I have also seen pro-draft positions being advanced as great class and race equalizers so that rich white kids will join their darker and / or economically poorer cousins on the frontlines in Iraq and elsewhere as well as stuffed into the body bags or nailed into the flag draped caskets. The argument goes that if there was equality in who was doing the killing and dying in Iraq and elsewhere, there might be greater concern and opposition to wars of conquest and expansionism like the bloodbath in Iraq. But are proponents of this position really making an anti-war argument? Here is how Rangel puts it: Staying the course in Iraq means increasing our troop strength, and, not surprisingly, recruitment and re-enlistment levels are down. But proposed enlistment bonuses and other economic incentives will not make the military any more attractive to upper-middle-class young people. Increasingly we will be a nation in which the poor fight our wars while the affluent stay home. To correct the disparity among those who serve, South Carolina Senator Fritz Hollings and I have proposed a new draft. All men and women ages 18 to 26 would be eligible for induction once they have completed high school. Those not needed in the military would perform civilian service. Enacting our plan would democratize our armed forces and return to the "citizen soldier" ideal that has served our nation so well. As a veteran, I strongly believe that fighting for our country must be fairly shared by all racial and economic groups. Nobody wants to go to war, but the burden of service cannot fall only on volunteers who, no matter how patriotic, are attracted to the military for financial reasons. We cannot continue to pretend it is fair that one segment of society makes all the sacrifices. He does not talk about ending the war, bringing the troops home now, later or ever. He wants to stay the course in Iraq as do nearly all representatives of his democratic party. While Charley is a liberal democrat, his pal Fritz Hollings is less liberal-ish - he has advocated drafting youth for decades. Sorry Charley! When the draft is brought back in completion as opposed to the first step now being implemented by blocking the exit door for those who have served their agreed upon time it will be brought back, not by Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, PNAC and the republicans alone. It will be brought back by bipartisan unity just like the war in Iraq was brought to us by bipartisan unity last fall, the $80 Bill for war in the spring (only 12 Congress Reps opposed no senators), the Syria Accountability Act, the $87 Bill for more war in Iraq, the continued occupation and US sponsored bloodbath in Iraq. We will be told that the forces are stretched thin, that we need to stay the curse in Iraq, that there are other looming threats. There will be much posturing in DC and maybe 1/3 to 2/3 of the democrats will vote against it with the democrat leadership knowing full well that they and their republican partners have the votes to push it through just like we keep seeing over and over. And best you believe that if and when there is a draft perhaps there will be more middle class children thrown into the fires of hatred and warfare but the rich, powerful and connected will still have their loopholes and work-arounds do not kid yourself. Another twist on such pro-draft thinking of anti-war activists is the idea of joining draft boards to give conscientious objectors a fairer hearing. The problem with that idea is that most draftees will NOT be conscientious objectors only a very few will benefit from such a tact. Indeed CO counseling is a legitimate form of resistance but joining the draft board and lending a veneer of fairness to the selective service system is a ruse that only helps with increased mobilization. So what should we do about the racial and economic disparity the so-called economic draft that results in a disproportionate number of African, Latino, Native, foreign born and poor white on the front and in the bags and boxes or in pieces? The Committee to End the Occupation of Iraq http://EndOccIraq.org is launching its Give the Youth the Truth drive. At this point we are pressuring the districts of Montgomery Township and Plainfield, both in NJ, to allow us to present our slide show Iraq Invaded to provide a counterweight to the military recruitment presence in the schools. Our goal is to increase the number of school districts we are targeting with this sort of outreach. Many other groups have done and are doing similar sort of outreach to high school students. We need to unmask the lies being told by the recruiters point out about the benefit cuts the cuts in combat pay the forced rescription (is that a word?) of GIs who now want the hell out, we need to organize in all of our communities to end military service as a rite of passage for many poor communities - and fight for jobs at home not mercenary adventures abroad. We also need to let the truth be known by the youth that the draft is coming back and that all of the young people have a stake in opposing the US war and occupation in Iraq in demanding the unconditional, immediate and total withdrawal of US armed forces from the Persian Gulf region! We dont want to put more youth into the services we want to prevent more from going in now! Indeed the draft will hurt the economically poor, Africans, Latinos and the foreign born as well it will force those who do not want to be part of the war machine to be so. More of them will be doing the killing and dying not less! An anti-war movement must oppose the draft. Let us not be fooled by fancy arguments that would have us promoting a pro-war position of supporting the draft. The draft WILL increase the war fighting capability of the US it will increase the size of the armed forces. Currently a substantial portion of the US forces are pinned down in Iraq giving pause to other would be imperial adventures. The draft is the solution to the problem for both war parties. Let us be clear that we are opposed to the draft including the economic one now in place including the one being implemented to rescript the GIs who want out who already survived a tour in Iraq or Afghanistan or anywhere else. Most importantly let us in all of our towns and communities devote a concerted effort to outreach into the schools keep the school neighborrhoods posted with literature against the war, draft and recruitment, work through our children and their friends of that age to do outreach and organize meetings to discuss these topics, take it into the streets where the youth congregate, figure out a way to get an ever present message to the youth. The guidance offices of our schools are virtual recruitment offices recruiters patrol the halls with all sorts of snake oil tricks. We need to figure out a way to be just as prevalent so that we can oppose the economic draft and Give the Youth the Truth!
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