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Edwards gets standing ovation in WV: NO MILITARY DRAFT if Dems win!!

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Dems Will Win Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Sep-15-04 06:22 PM
Original message
Edwards gets standing ovation in WV: NO MILITARY DRAFT if Dems win!!
Edited on Wed Sep-15-04 06:25 PM by Dems Will Win
No Military Draft if Democrats Win, Vice Presidential Candidate John Edwards Tells W. Va. Mother

The Associated Press


PARKERSBURG, W.Va. Sept. 15, 2004 — Vice presidential candidate John Edwards promised a West Virginia mother on Wednesday that if the Democratic ticket is elected in November the military draft would not be revived. During a question-and-answer session, the mother of a 23-year-old who recently graduated from West Virginia University asked Edwards whether the draft would be reinstated.

"There will be no draft when John Kerry is president," Edwards said, a statement that drew a standing ovation.

The current force is all-volunteer, and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld has said he opposes reinstating the draft. But the Pentagon has taken several steps that have drawn criticism.

In June, the Pentagon recalled to active duty 5,674 members of the Individual Ready Reserve, soldiers who have served specified tours of duty but have years remaining in their enlistment contracts.

-snip-

http://abcnews.go.com/wire/Politics/ap20040915_1707.html
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Dems Will Win Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Sep-15-04 06:22 PM
Response to Original message
1. Dems Will Win!
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Carla in Ca Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Sep-15-04 06:50 PM
Response to Reply #1
11. OK, does everyone see the ad I'm seeing?

Open with dead/wounded stats and video. Narrator says "* calls himself the war president, and it is war you will continue to get if he is (re)elected".
Do you want nation-destroying, or nation-building?
On Nov. 2nd, vote for Kerry/Edwards, not for the draft!
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A_Possum Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Sep-15-04 06:23 PM
Response to Original message
2. Excellent n/t
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stepnw1f Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Sep-15-04 06:24 PM
Response to Original message
3. link? (nt)
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Dems Will Win Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Sep-15-04 06:26 PM
Response to Reply #3
5. Added it!
Up top
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jefferson_dem Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Sep-15-04 06:25 PM
Response to Original message
4. Holy Moly! There's a promise that will ignite young voters' support
I work with masses of young people every day and the one thing that puts the "fear of God" into them is that five letter word - DRAFT!
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Dems Will Win Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Sep-15-04 06:28 PM
Response to Reply #4
6. Hey Jefferson Dem
What would Jefferson say about this document:

http://blatanttruth.org/selective_service091304.pdf

Got it from a reporter who got it through the FOI Act
In May, the Seattle Post Intelligencer published an article about a document they received through the Freedom of Information Act. It was revealed that the SSS is currently “designing procedures” for the implementation of a “Skills Draft” after holding a top-level meeting on it with Deputy Undersecretaries at the Defense Department. This draft would change the very mission of the Selective Service and require “virtually every young American”, male and female ages 18-34, to register for the Skills Draft and list all the occupations they are proficient in to fill labor shortages throughout nearly the entire government.

This document is real, having been acknowledged by the DoD and the SSS when they said no action is being taken on it at the present time, as reported:

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/171522_draft01.html

Although Congress would have to approve new legislation to create a Skills Draft or reinstate the combat draft, Family Circle reported in its July 13 issue that Karl Rove has polled GOP members of Congress in September 2002 to see if they would support the President if he requests reinstatement. The Republicans said they would vote for the draft.

In addition, the SSS itself has said that it is “designing procedures” (Seattle PI, May 1, 2004) to implement the skills draft, meaning designing the compliance cards and the data fields needed to keep track of “virtually every young American” and their skills. Acting Director of the SSS Brodsky has also said the Skills Draft is the “top priority” of the Selective Service for 2004. The Issue Paper options include:

- Allow a non-combat draft for shortages in critical skills, without calling a combat draft.

- Fill labor shortages of all kinds throughout not only DoD but the Dept. of Homeland Security and other agencies, especially high-paying professionals like computer networking specialist or linguist.

- Create a single-point, all-inclusive database, in which every young person would be forced to send in a “self-declaration” of all of their critical skills, chosen from a long list of occupations like the Armed Forces Specialty Code. The usual penalties of imprisonment and/or a $250,000 fine would apply to all non-registrants.

In the secret planning meeting document, the next steps strongly recommended by SSS Acting Director Brodsky were:

1. “Promptly” redefine the SSS Mission to draft men and women up to age 34 for skills, and deliver them within 90 days or sooner to the Department of Defense. Program a massive database to be ready to enter millions of names of those registering their critical skills.
2. Expand mission to deliver personnel in skills draft to the Department of Homeland Security and other agencies, including FEMA, NSC, Border Patrol, INS, Customs, Corporation for National Service, Public Health Service and other agencies.
3. Form interagency task force to provide Administration with recommendation on this skills draft for the entire government.
4. Obtain White House Statement of Administration Policy on the future of the SSS.
5. Be prepared to market the skills draft, raising the non-combat age to 34 and the drafting of women to the Armed Services and Appropriations Committee.

In contrast to this planning and preparation to create a targeted draft, Kerry plans to spend an additional $7 billion to strengthen the Volunteer Army in what is essentially a “No-Draft Plan”. Moreover, Kerry is strongly opposed to the neo-con plan revealed in Wes Clark’s book Winning Modern Wars, in which Clark was told by a senior Pentagon official that invasions of Syria, Lebanon, Iran, Sudan and Somalia were planned and still to come over the next three years.











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jefferson_dem Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Sep-15-04 06:38 PM
Response to Reply #6
9. Hmmmm...He may say that fighting for a democratic and just cause is the
highest form of personal service and sacrifice. But this sure 'aint that, elitist scoundrels!

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Crachet2004 Donating Member (725 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Sep-15-04 06:31 PM
Response to Original message
7. Finally...but why did it take so long for them to just SAY IT!!!
This is how we win.
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aquart Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Sep-15-04 06:35 PM
Response to Original message
8. Damn. All-volunteer army is a crappy idea.
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jpgray Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Sep-15-04 06:43 PM
Response to Reply #8
10. The way our country uses it
I'd prefer the option to avoid service be open. Of course, making healthy changes in our society will lower enlistment out of desperation, but those same changes will make useless wars less necessary.
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Dems Will Win Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Sep-15-04 07:19 PM
Response to Reply #10
12. kick
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