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GyG1345
01-21-03, 12:04 PM
Washington Post

January 18, 2003

Rumsfeld's Draft Dodge

By Mark Shields

In his first news conference of the new year, Defense Secretary Donald
Rumsfeld shamefully smeared America veterans. He then went on to fib about
how there is absolutely "no need" to consider reinstating the military draft
because the nation's all-volunteer military is, he assured us, working
perfectly.

First, the smear of veterans. Speaking of the 11 million Americans who,
during the Vietnam years, answered their country's draft call and the 2
million who served in Vietnam, Rumsfeld alleged that these draftees "added
no value, no advantage, really, to the United States armed services over any
sustained period of time, because the churning that took place, it took
enormous amount of effort in terms of training and then they were gone."

I'll say they were "gone." Of the 58,152 Americans who gave their lives in
Vietnam, 20,352 were draftees. How dare the secretary of defense say these
good and brave Americans "added no value, no advantage, to the United States
armed services"? Why would he slander the sacrifice of these brave men,
dishonor their memory and rub salt in their families' wounds?

Certainly a man as smart as Rumsfeld knows that the draft was specifically
intended to bring forth volunteers. Faced with the certainty of a future
draft call, many young men chose to "volunteer" because then they could
select which branch of the service they went into and, if qualified, get the
specialized training they desired. So most American veterans--from 1940 to
1973--entered the service either directly or indirectly because at the draft
law.

Rumsfeld himself was "drafted." He chose, after graduating from Princeton
University in 1954, to serve three years on active duty as a Navy aviator.
More than two out of three of his Princeton classmates, also motivated by
the reality of the draft, served on active duty. Two years ago-with no
draft-exactly two members of the Princeton graduating class chose to become
officers in the military.

Now to Rumsfeld's fiction about the all-volunteer service. Asked about
legislation introduced to reinstitute the draft on the eve of war, Rumsfeld
was emphatic: "We're not going to re-implement the draft. There is no need
for it at all.... We have people serving today-God bless 'em-because they
volunteered. They want to be doing what it is they're doing."

Sounds good, except that it is not true. Two days after these unequivocal
words, the U.S. Marine Corps-which reports to the secretary of defense-froze
for the next 12 months every one of its 174,312 members currently on active
duty. Marines who had completed their voluntary enlistments or their 20
years and had chosen to return to civilian life or retirement will instead
remain, involuntarily, in the service.

Marines being Marines, they will answer their country's call. But let us be
clear: This action, along with other more limited freezes affecting other
thousands in uniform imposed by the other services, means the volunteer U.S.
military is no longer all-volunteer. The unavoidable question that now must
be answered by Rumsfeld and the president is not whether Americans should be
"drafted" to defend the country, because we are already doing that, but
exactly which Americans will be drafted.

Maybe the war-hawk Republicans and Democrats on Capitol Hillcan now explain
why it is more just to retain on active duty involuntarily an American who
has fulfilled his voluntary obligation to his country than it would be to
bring to active duty involuntarily to those Americans--including the sons of
senators and CEOs-who have yet to serve. Now, before the bullets fly and
before the bombs drop and before the brave young widows again climb the hill
at Arlington National Cemetery, we must face that test of whether we have
the will to stand together on individual sacrifice for the common good and
determine whose brothers, whose sons and whose fathers will fight in war.

USMC-FO
01-21-03, 12:53 PM
Ok I have read this and have a couple of thoughts. First is that the author, Mark Shields is if I recall, a "bomb thrower" . Likes to stir things up. Which it appears he has done here--at least with me.

Secondly I strongly suspect that Rumsfeld may well have let his tongue get ahead of his brain here. I can't imagine his degegrating draftee's who died in Nam as is implied here. Who among us has not done that?? Let our mouths run ahead of our brain. I am willing to give the guy the benefit of the doubt here. Note that his--Rumsfeld's--quote is brief. I suspect also taken out of context.

Lastly the whole question of the draft is HUGELY political !! It was political in the early 70's when Nixon abolished to get the protesters off his ass, and it is very political today because frankly there are few in DC that have the stones to stand up and say that dumping the draft in the 70's was a bad idea. Not that the US can't kick serious butt with an all volunteer armed service any day it wants, but the absense of a draft, I think, does tend to skew our armed forces along class lines. That alone is, I feel, wrong. Weather you like Charlie Rangle or not, he has a valid point in his proposition to re introduce the draft.

I stongly believe that this nations youth should serve in some capacity doing something--civic or military. I don't need to look very far around here to see to many over priviliged kids who rarely get up off their sorry butts long enough to think for a moment they ought to be giving something back to this country for the good fortune they have because they live in this nation. If the draft would motivate youngsters to think about this and at the same time serve to balance out the services--all of them--then I think it would be worthwhile.

But as I said there is really no one in DC with the "cahonnes" to say that let along actually do something.

MillRatUSMC
01-21-03, 12:55 PM
How dare that SOB stated;
"These draftees added no value, no advantage,
really, to the United States armed services over any
sustained period of time, because the churning that took place, it took enormous amount of effort in terms of training and then they were gone."
Hell they did better than some, who had "OTHER PIORITIES"
Where you Dick Chaney?
Sure was in Vietnam along with many in both parties of this congress.
Am I doing a boil in Northwest Indiana,
You best believe it.
I had to do more than one tour because some had "OTHER PIORITIES".
I wasn't a draftee because I had enlisted many years before Vietnam.
But to say that they had no worth, value or advantage.
Smite one as gross disrespect to those listed a KIA, WIA, POW in a war that many avoided by any means.
GWB and others come to mind.
Been born to the wealthy and leaders of either party got a free ticket from serving in Vietnam.

Fxck that SOB

Semper Fidelis
Ricardo

GyG1345
01-21-03, 07:56 PM
ADDENDUM:
RUMSFELD UNDER FIRE FOR COMMENT ON DRAFT!

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/826895/postsHERE!!!!! (http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/826895/posts)

Art Petersn
01-21-03, 08:39 PM
The Pentagon initially responded to a Washington Post report on Rumsfeld's remarks by saying the newspaper had misconstrued his meaning. Rumsfeld's chief spokeswoman, Victoria Clarke, wrote in a letter to the Post published Monday that Rumsfeld's point was that "conscription as a system suffers by comparison with the all-volunteer force."

SHOOTER1
01-21-03, 09:45 PM
Ill have to hold my tounge till i git more info, and then i think all H*** is going to break out on this keyboard to every E-Mail address in Washington D.C. and for me to hold my tounge, is a miricule of the seventh order

MillRatUSMC
01-21-03, 10:25 PM
One is held accountable for one's actions or words.
Even if it's taken out of context, that still smite as gross disrespect.
We fought this coming back home, and we're still dealing with disrespect for our service.
Had more than one fight.
There might be a need for that old saying;
"It Don't mean Nuthing!"
We had Marines in the early part of the war that had been drafted.
I taught many to shoot.
When I was a Primary Marksmanship Instructor (PMI).
They were there by the luck of counting off, every third man was to report to the Marine Corps
I'm still a little hot under the collar.
"It Don't Mean Nuthing!"
Say it again Ricardo
"It Don't Mean Nuthing!"

Semper Fidelis
Ricardo