Feel a draft coming on? Rumsfield agrees to bigger US Army

[freespeechhere]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2004/01/30/wrums
30.xml&sSheet=/news/2004/01/30/ixworld.html

Excerpt: Invoking emergency powers, Mr Rumsfeld has authorised the army to exceed its fixed ceiling of 482,000 by an extra 30,000 men and women. The temporary expansion could last four years.

***

This is the scariest thing of all about this war without end...the National Guard is in the tank, enlistments and re-enlistments are way down...what alternative will Rummy have except to start mailing out the draft cards?

[Loonman]

1. Temporary Expansion

That's a new phrase.

Send the Freepers and Bush's daughters to go fight.

[GreenPartyVoter]

2. My boys are too young

but I know an awful lot of kids who would be at risk for that draft. :(

[Devlzown]

3. That link seems to be down.

I guess the Americans aren't reporting this story.

[GreenPartyVoter]

5. Another article

Published on Thursday, January 29, 2004 by the Baltimore Sun
Rumsfeld Bumps Up US Forces by 30,000
Emergency increase, a change of course, stuns House committee

by A Sun Staff Writer

Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld, responding to unusual criticism from a three-star general that the Army is too small to meet its global commitments, has authorized an emergency increase of 30,000 troops, Congress was told yesterday.

Rumsfeld, who had scoffed only last week at the assertion by Lt. Gen. John M. Riggs, a decorated Vietnam veteran who is in charge of building an Army for the future, invoked emergency powers to push the number of troops above the congressionally approved limit of 482,000, known in military parlance as "end strength."

http://www.commondreams.org/headlines04/0129-05.htm

[freespeechhere]

6. Here's another good link or two:

http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/breaking_news/7833260.htm

Excerpt: (The announcement)surprised lawmakers because Rumsfeld and others had said for months that they didn't want to make the military bigger, just better.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/news/archive/2004/01/29/national1716EST0722.DTL

Excerpt: Some lawmakers were irked that Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld unilaterally increased the size of the Army without their authorization.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A61583-2004Jan29.html

Excerpt: The current plan for fulfilling both overseas commitments and restructuring calls for the use of "stop-loss" orders to keep all deployed units at or above 100 percent of authorized strength until new soldiers -- with a heavy emphasis on infantrymen -- can be recruited this year and next.

[Loonman]

4. DOD link

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story2&cid=1896&u=/nm/20040128/us_nm/arms_usa_troops_dc_1&printer=1



The local and national news media is too busy licking Bush's ass.