US Preparing for Military Draft in Spring 2005 by Adam Stutz • Wednesday January 28, 2004 at 09:50 AM The current agenda of the US federal government is to reinstate the draft in order to staff up for a protracted war on "terrorism." Pending legislation in the House and Senate (twin bills S 89 and HR 163) would time the program so the draft could begin at early as Spring 2005 -- conveniently just after the 2004 presidential election! Reinstatement of the draft Dear Friends and Family, I urge you to read the article below on the current agenda of the federal government to reinstate the draft in order to staff up for a protracted war on "terrorism." Pending legislation in the House and Senate (twin bills S 89 and HR 163) would time the program so the draft could begin at early as Spring 2005 -- conveniently just after the 2004 presidential election! But the administration is quietly trying to get these bills passed NOW, so our action is needed immediately. Details and links follow. If voters who currently support U.S. aggression abroad were confronted with the possibility that their own children or grandchildren might not have a say about whether to fight, many of these same voters might have a change of mind. (Not that it should make a difference, but this plan would among other things eliminate higher education as a shelter and would not exclude women -- and Canada is no longer an option.) Please send this on to all the parents and teachers you know, and all the aunts and uncles, grandparents, godparents.... And let your children know -- it's their future, and they can be a powerful voice for change! Please also write to your representatives to ask them why they aren't telling their cons!@#$%^&*uents about these bills -- and write to newspapers and other media outlets to ask them why they're not covering this important story. The Draft* $28 million has been added to the 2004 Selective Service System (SSS) budget to prepare for a military draft that could start as early as June 15, 2005. SSS must report to Bush on March 31, 2005 that the system, which has lain dormant for decades, is ready for activation. Please see website: http://www.sss.gov/perfplan_fy2004.html to view the SSS Annual Performance Plan - Fiscal Year 2004. The Pentagon has quietly begun a public campaign to fill all 10,350 draft board positions and 11,070 appeals board slots nationwide.. Though this is an unpopular election year topic, military experts and influential members of Congress are suggesting that if Rumsfeld's prediction of a "long, hard slog" in Iraq and Afghanistan [and a permanent state of war on "terrorism"] proves accurate, the U.S. may have no choice but to draft. Congress brought twin bills, S. 89 and H.R. 163 forward this year, en!@#$%^&*led the Universal National Service Act of 2003, "To provide for the common defense by requiring that all young persons [age 18--26] in the United States, including women, perform a period of military service or a period of civilian service in furtherance of the national defense and homeland security, and for other purposes." These active bills currently sit in the Committee on Armed Services. Dodging the draft will be more difficult than those from the Vietnam era remember. College and Canada will not be options. In December 2001, Canada and the US signed a "Smart Border Declaration," which could be used to keep would-be draft dodgers in. Signed by Canada's Minister of Foreign Affairs, John Manley, and US Homeland Security Director, Gov. Tom Ridge, the declaration involves a 30-point plan which implements, among other things, a "pre-clearance agreement" of people entering and departing each country. Reforms aimed at making the draft more equitable along gender and class lines also eliminates higher education as a shelter. Underclassmen would only be able to postpone service until the end of their cur-rent semester. Seniors would have until the end of the academic year. *This article by Adam Stutz is from the "What's Hot Off the Press" column of the newsletter of Project Censored, a media research group at Sonoma State University that tracks the news published in independent journals and newsletters. From these, Project Censored compiles an annual list (more than 20 years running) of 25 news stories of social significance that have been overlooked, under-reported, or self-censored by the country's major national news media. The mission of Project Censored is "to educate people about the role of independent journalism in a democratic society and to tell The News That Didn't Make the News and why." "What's Hot Off the Press" includes student synopses of articles currently being investigated for inclusion in the next Project Censored report. For more info and/or to receive Project Censored's newsletter, go to http://www.projectcensored.org, or email [censored]@sonoma.edu Don't beleive it yet? Go to http://www.senate.gov/pagelayout/legislati...lative_home.htm and search for "S 89", then later search for "HR 163" where it says "By Number" and you'll find the articles Here's a chunk of it: Section 7 !@#$%^&*led: INDUCTION EXEMPTIONS. Reads as follows: "(a) QUALIFICATIONS-No person may be inducted for military service under this Act unless the person is acceptable to the Secretary concerned for training and meets the same health and physical qualifications applicable under section 505 of !@#$%^&*le 10, United States Code, to persons seeking original enlistment in a regular component of the Armed Forces. ( OTHER MILITARY SERVICE-No person shall be liable for induction under this Act who-- (1) is serving, or has served honorably for at lesat six months, in any component of uniformed on active duty; or (2) is or becomes a cadet or midshipman at the United States Military Academy, the United States Naval Academy, the United States Air Force Academy, the Coast Guard Academy, the United States Merchant Marine Academy, a midshipman of a Navy accredited State maritime academy, a member of the Senior Reserve Officers' Training Corps, or the naval aviation college program, so long as that person satisfactorily continues in and complete two years training therein." This means that there are NO exceptions to YOU being drafted unless you have a physical or mental disability that is discussed in section 505 of !@#$%^&*le 10 of the United States Code. WOMEN AND MEN WILL BE DRAFTED. COLLEGE STUDENTS WILL BE DRAFTED. GLBT PEOPLE WILL BE DRAFTED. Section 8 !@#$%^&*led CONSCIENTIOUS OBJECTION. reads as follows: "(a) CLAIMS AS CONSCIENTIOUS OBJECTOR-Any person selected under this Act for induction into the uniformed services who claims, because of religious training and belief (as defined in section 6(j) of the Military Selective Service Act (50 U.S.C. 456(j))), exemption from combatant training included as part of that military service and whose claim is sustained under such procedures as the President may prescribe, shall, when inducted, participate in military service that does not inclue any combatant training component. ( TRANSFER TO CIVILIAN SERVICE-Any such person whose claim is sustained may, at the discretion of the President, be transferred to a national service program for performance of such person's national service obligation under the Act." "This means that any C.O. (Conscientious Objector) will STILL BE DRAFTED. And will have duties that aren't combatant. Which means that I (as a C.O....it is against my religious beliefs to kill, or attempt to kill, another person), if drafted, could still be shipped off to Iraq and do something like working a radio on the front lines telling the people who are shooting where to shoot. Yeah. " -Someone
