Here is a different point of view. I\'m hoping this one is right, since I\'m 24, and not gay or
paralyzed or in any other way exempt. Some interesting psychology/politics going on here.
I\'ve edited out some
of the boring parts
</font><blockquote><font class=\"small\">Quote:</font><hr />
Copyright 2004 Star Tribune
Star Tribune (Minneapolis, MN)
March 7, 2004, Sunday, Metro Edition
SECTION: VARIETY; Kim Ode; Pg. 2E
LENGTH:
717 words
HEADLINE: Do you feel a draft?;
Rumors, suspicions raise worries about a revival, despite lots of
official denials
BYLINE: Kim Ode; Staff Writer
BODY:
Talk about a bombshell. An e-mail making the rounds says
that two bills to reinstate the draft are quietly pending in Congress. It\'s true. But as with many things these
days, reality isn\'t exactly what it appears, while the effort that deserves our keenest attention is skulking
under the radar.
The two bills, HR 163 and S 89, were introduced little more than a year ago and since have
simmered on the rearmost burners of the Armed Services committees. Their Democrat sponsors expected as much, for the
bills represent an antiwar strategy.
The bills would draft rich kids and daughters and college students along
with everyone else between ages 18 and 26. Maybe, their thinking goes, such shared sacrifice across our youthful
population would keep us from going to war on less-than-stellar pretexts. Republicans won\'t vote for this;
neither will Democrats.
.........
So I cling to Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld\'s unequivocal
statements that the draft will not be reimplemented. In fact, I\'ll repeat them as often as possible. Because I
fear the game\'s afoot.
In November, a notice seeking citizens to serve on local draft boards appeared on
the Pentagon\'s Web site and then, without explanation, disappeared barely a week after word of its existence got
around. Copies of the document still exist, though. Draft boards are made up of community volunteers who decide who
among the drafted would go to war and who could defer their service.
Even after the draft was
abolished, draft boards never completely faded away. More than 11,000 volunteers nationwide are trained in
regulations and procedures. Yet despite the administration\'s firm statements that there are no plans for a new
draft, the Pentagon notice reportedly was the first formal request for draft board volunteers since the draft was
abolished in 1973.
Maybe it means nothing. But the fact is that many in the National Guard and Army Reserves
will not be reenlisting when they return home from the Middle East. In a recent poll by the military newspaper Stars
and Stripes, 49 percent said they were \"not likely\" or \"very unlikely\" to stay in.
Still, the
Pentagon says there is no cause for concern, reporting that each branch of the armed services met or exceeded its
recruiting goals for 2003. Ironically, that success is one reason that Rep. Charles Rangle (D-N.Y.) introduced his
bill calling for the draft. No more relying on the poor and minorities to defend the privileged. \"For those who
say the poor fight better, I say give the rich a chance,\" he said at the time.
The sponsor of the Senate
bill, Sen. Ernest Hollings (D- S.C.), was even more blunt: \"One way to avoid a lot more wars to come is institute
the draft,\" Hollings told the New York Times. \"You will find that this country will sober up, and its
leadership, too.\"
In the meantime, the Selective Service\'s annual performance plan for 2004
(http://www.sss.gov/perfplan_fy2004.html) describes goals for its \"manpower delivery system\" that
include making sure that local draft boards could be up and running within 75 days of a return to conscription.
Kim Ode\'s column runs Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays. Write to her at
kimode@startribune.com (\"kimode@startribune.com\") or 425 Portland Av. S. Minneapolis MN 55488. For
past columns, go to http://www.startribune.com/ode. (\"http://www.startribune.com/ode.\")
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