News on moral refusal and right to freedom from draft

[tomkertes]

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• New on the moral costs of war and right of moral refusal

Now That Election
Is Over, Expect to See Conscription

Within a matter of weeks, Rep. Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.), plans to try and
re-institute the military draft, saying the present voluntary system places
an unfair burden of war among lower- and middle-class Americans while giving
the rich a free ride from military service. Rangel’s statements are unpopular
among most lawmakers and government watchdog groups. But they came on one of
the bloodiest days of the Iraq war with over 35 Marines killed, bringing the
total military casualties to more than 1,400 with over 10,000 injured or maimed.
Although the liberal Democrat has been an outspoken critic of President Bush’s
war policies, he said this week “the burden of war should be shared among
all social groups,” including the children of the wealthy and privileged.
http://dailydraftdispatch.org/05_02/04_rangel.html

'Good' Military
Families vs. 'Bad' Military Families

In times of war, particularly when that war is starting to look meaningless
and futile, its promoters must keep one highly influential group under control:
the families and friends of fallen soldiers. Whether by enemy or friendly fire,
on the battlefield or off, military deaths send shockwaves through families
and friends, shockwaves that can lead to changes of heart about the war. http://dailydraftdispatch.org/05_02/06_goodvbad.html

G.I. Families
United in Grief, but Split by the War

They have met on the Internet and on cross-country road trips. But mostly they
find one another at the funerals. As the number of American troops killed in
Iraq has risen above 1,300, mothers of the dead have built a grim community
of their own, mostly invisible to outsiders and separated by geography, but
bound together by death. http://dailydraftdispatch.org/05_02/06_goodvbadnyt.html

A tough time
to enlist a few good boys

Two Marine recruiters strolled into Oliver High School on a warm winter afternoon.
They were looking for prospects, but found chaos. Loud students packed the
halls, many seemingly with no place to go. A carton of spilled chocolate milk
left a slick puddle on the linoleum floor, but nobody bothered to clean it
up. One school security officer surveyed the human storm unfolding in front
of him, frowned, and then made a pitch to Marine Staff Sgt. Jason Rivera. "Sign
up some of these kids," the officer said. "They need the discipline." Rivera,
who oversees Marine recruiting at high schools on Pittsburgh's North Side and
in the city's northern suburbs, did his best. He approached boys who looked
like upperclassmen, and made an abbreviated sales pitch if the decibel level
dipped enough so he could be heard. Nobody was interested. http://dailydraftdispatch.org/05_02/06_pitenlist.html

Drafting via
education

There is a form of draft in effect in the United States of America today. There
is, of course, no literal draft. The government got too smart for that. Instead
of forcing men and women to serve, they began a system of benefits if you served
- more specifically, a shot at higher education. The college degree is fast
becoming what the high school degree once was. A bachelor's degree has become
a standard requirement, especially in the Northeast region, to gain employment
with benefits and pay enough to (hopefully) live on. As the level of specialization
has increased in the workplace, the cost of education has increased. As this
happened, the government wisely realized where to find their next generation
of soldiers: wannabe college students without the dough to cover tuition. http://dailydraftdispatch.org/05_02/06_edudraft.html

Who's
Dying in Our War? The answer is Army Reservists and National Guardsmen such
as Californian Patrick McCaffrey.

Some months after the Americanstook over the sprawling Balad Air Base, about
50 miles north of Baghdad, someone posted an enigmatic sign on the main gate
asking: "Is Today the Day?" Soldiers at the base, which the U.S.
military renamed Logistics Support Area Anaconda, or Camp Anaconda, take turns
speculating about what the sign means. In the tense months leading up to today's
planned national elections in Iraq, the population at the base has swollen
to more than 22,000 soldiers and civilian contractors. Some Camp Anaconda residents—installed
in relative comfort inside the 15-square-mile compound that now features four
dining halls, two swimming pools, a first-run movie theater and a Burger King
franchise—have concluded that the sign is a military safety message: "Stay
Alert!" http://dailydraftdispatch.org/05_02/06_reservesdying.html

Legislative
leaders introduce relief for active Guard troops

A family relief fund and tax relief in the form of income- and property-tax
deferrals are among the financial proposals in a benefit package for National
Guard troops on active duty unveiled Friday by state legislative leaders. Those
are in addition to the life insurance guarantees previously discussed this
week at the state Capitol. In addition, the proposal includes services such
as establishing a 1-800 telephone number to help all veterans and their families
obtain in-state resources and information as well as a registry of active-duty
personnel and veterans to facilitate legislative and interpersonal contact.
http://dailydraftdispatch.org/05_02/06_reservehelp.html

Washington
Post Editorial: Rebuilding the Army

A day after President Bush bluntly ruled out an "artificial timetable" for
withdrawal from Iraq, the Pentagon delivered a sobering follow-up: While the
15,000 additional U.S. troops deployed for last Sunday's elections will be
withdrawn, the 17 remaining brigades -- 135,000 soldiers and Marines -- will
be needed in Iraq at least through the end of this year. That estimate is understandable,
given the continuing strength of the Sunni insurgency and the troubles in preparing
Iraqi security forces. In fact, even the post-election reduction seems questionable,
given that vital infrastructure and roads in Iraq, and even the highway from
downtown Baghdad to the airport, remain insecure. Yet the alarming truth may
be that the administration has little choice but to draw down troops: As it
is, the present deployment in Iraq is on the verge of breaking an undermanned
Army. http://dailydraftdispatch.org/05_02/06_smallarmy.html

The Nation:
PNAC's Happy Warriors

If love means never having to say you're sorry, its epitome was recently
expressed by the Project for the New American Century. A glorified letterhead
under which neoconservatives and liberal hawks have been affixing their signatures
for years (primarily in the service of bringing regime change to Iraq), PNAC's
latest communiqué was dispatched to Capitol Hill on January 28. It
implores Congressional leaders to add at least 25,000 troops to the Army
and Marine Corps each year for the next several years, as "it should
be evident that our engagement in the greater Middle East is truly...a 'generational
commitment.' " http://dailydraftdispatch.org/05_02/06_warriers.html

Andrew Sullivan:
If Bush is now gunning for anyone, it’s Syria not Iran

What will be the Bush administration’s foreign policy in the second
term? Condoleezza Rice, the newly confirmed secretary of state, will have
briefed her British counterpart by now but much of Washington is out of the
loop.One theory can, I think, be largely dismissed. Pioneered by Seymour
Hersh, the journalist, and the more paranoid set is the notion that the United
States is about to embark on a new series of military invasions in the Middle
East. Hersh is an excellent reporter. But the problem with his analysis is
that he has no relevant sources. http://dailydraftdispatch.org/05_02/06_syria.html

Can the U.S.
Defuse Iran?

George W. Bush has staked his presidency on his reputation as a straight
shooter, the kind of leader who presents a clear, decisive message to the
nation's adversaries in the war on terrorism. But as the U.S. tries to persuade
Iran to give up its nuclear ambitions, the White House can't seem to make
up its mind. First the President said he could not rule out future military
action against Iran. Then Vice President Dick Cheney, just hours before the
Inauguration, told radio host Don Imus that "the Israelis might well
decide to act first and let the rest of the world worry about
cleaning up the diplomatic mess afterward." http://dailydraftdispatch.org/05_02/06_iran2.html

Rumsfeld says
Iraq needs time to develop forces to thwart attack by neighbors

Iraq will need time to build up forces sufficient to handle a potential
threat from its neighbors specifically Iran even after Baghdad proves capable
of overcoming the insurgency at home, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld
said Sunday.Both Rumsfeld and Vice President Dick Cheney, in comments during
Sunday talk shows, brushed off concern that Islam could guide Iraq's new government.
Cheney said Iraq will shape its own government, and Rumsfeld predicted that
choosing a system mirroring that of Iran would be ''a terrible mistake.'' http://dailydraftdispatch.org/05_02/06_longtime.html

Breaking Ranks
to Shun War: An Army sergeant who refuses to return to Iraq seeks a discharge
as a conscientious objector.

He may instead face a court-martial. His sergeant called him a coward to his
face. His chaplain sent him an e-mail saying he was ashamed of him. His commanders
had him formally charged with desertion. Sgt. Kevin Benderman, who has served
one tour of duty in Iraq, is refusing to serve another. http://dailydraftdispatch.org/05_02/07_breran.html

In Good Conscience

Aidan Delgado was a Florida college student looking for a change when he decided
to join the Army Reserve. He signed his enlistment contract on the morning
of Sept. 11, 2001. After finishing the paperwork, he saw a television broadcast
of the burning World Trade Center and realized he might be in for more than
one weekend a month of low-key service. http://dailydraftdispatch.org/05_02/06_aidan2.html

His farewell to
arms

After Perry O'Brien was granted conscientious-objector status from the Army
last November, he didn't want to just sit around and talk about his experience.
The 22-year-old O'Brien, who served a tour of duty in Afghanistan as a airborne
medic before he was honorably discharged as a conscientious objector, wanted
to help other soldiers who have grave doubts about the ethics of war. http://dailydraftdispatch.org/05_02/06_perry.html

Iraq veterans
and activists speak out at Tuft: Speakers are united in call for immediate
troop pullout

" When I was in Iraq, I didn't feel like I was protecting freedom," Dougherty
said last night to a packed Pearson 104. "When we left 10 months later,
the situation had only gotten worse and people had gotten more and more angry
with our presence there." http://dailydraftdispatch.org/05_02/06_tufts.html

Token Balance
How the NYT News Department Persuades Readers to Identify with Prowar, Pro-Bush
Military Families

Most Americans sympathize with parents who've lost their children, especially
when those losses are said to be in the service of one's country. So when parents
start to speak out against the war that killed their child, doubts can spread
rapidly throughout the community. http://dailydraftdispatch.org/05_02/06_balance.html

Widows
of War Speak Out for Benefits

Edith Smith, in a neat yellow suit and the yellow pleated cap of Gold Star
Wives of America Inc., glanced one more time at her speech, took a slight breath,
then spoke into the microphone to members of the Senate Committee on Veteran's
Affairs. http://dailydraftdispatch.org/05_02/07_widof_.html

Program to support
soldiers' families

As increasing numbers of National Guardsmen and reservists are deployed, families
and soldiers are finding themselves in unfamiliar territory - both at home
and abroad. But with the support of a new government program, spearheaded in
part by UNC-Chapel Hill officials, the transitions from deployment to home
will soon become easier for soldiers and their families. http://dailydraftdispatch.org/05_02/06_program.html

Guardsmen,
reservists hit hard at home by call-ups

Inside the Churchville Veterinary Hospital, veterinarian Rick Parsons is busy
performing cancer surgery on a 5-year-old German shepherd. It's a bitter winter
afternoon, and Parsons' friend and accountant, Dave Young, has stopped by to
go over some financial records. Stepping outside the operating room, Parsons
asks his friend if he would like to watch. Glancing at the bloodstained operating
table, Young politely declines.
http://dailydraftdispatch.org/05_02/07_guares.html

[blue neen]

1. I read that article yesterday in the Pittsburgh Post Gazette

about the Marine recruiters at Oliver High School. The Post Gazette had it on the front page of their Sunday Edition.

It's interesting how the Marines are concentrating recruiting in the poor inner city high schools. There are no jobs in this area for young people. They were after my son for a long time, and we live in a rural area near Pittsburgh. I can just imagine the phone calls that the city kids get.

It looks like some of the students are paying attention to the fatality reports. Good for them. They need to care about their own lives because the Bush administration sure as hell isn't going to do that for them.

[EC]

2. I wish Rep. Charles Rangel would wait

and let the Republicans bring it forward, since we know it's going to have to happen, why make us the scapegoats....

[tomkertes]

3. totally agree n/t

[patdem]

4. Tom, I do not know who you are, but you have been the moral voice of the

draft from the day you arrived, and for that I thank you. I am sure many mothers and fathers of draft aged kids thank you. You have taken on a very important role in this country. I am sure you are protecting YOUR children, but you did not STOP there, you have taken it to the larger community. You deserve respect and honor. Thanks for all your hard work on the draft issue! :hi: :yourock: