Why CANADA is NOT an option to avoid the DRAFT: link to Smart Border Dec.

[Dems Will Win]

The Smart Border Declaration
BUILDING A SMART BORDER FOR THE 21st CENTURY ON THE FOUNDATION OF A NORTH AMERICAN ZONE OF CONFIDENCE

The terrorist actions of September 11 were an attack on our common commitment to democracy, the rule of law and a free and open economy. They highlighted a threat to our public and economic security. They require our governments to develop new approaches to meet these challenges. This declaration commits our governments to work together to address these threats to our people, our institutions and our prosperity.

Public security and economic security are mutually reinforcing. By working together to develop a zone of confidence against terrorist activity, we create a unique opportunity to build a smart border for the 21st century; a border that securely facilitates the free flow of people and commerce; a border that reflects the largest trading relationship in the world.

Our countries have a long history of cooperative border management. This tradition facilitated both countries' immediate responses to the attacks of September 11. It is the foundation on which we continue to base our cooperation, recognizing that our current and future prosperity and security depend on a border that operates efficiently and effectively under all circumstances.

Action Plan

The attached Action Plan for Creating a Secure and Smart Border includes the measures already identified by our colleagues as well as new initiatives. Four pillars support the action plan:

(1) The Secure Flow of People

We will implement systems to collaborate in identifying security risks while expediting the flow of low risk travellers.

We will identify security threats before they arrive in North America through collaborative approaches to reviewing crew and passenger manifests, managing refugees, and visa policy coordination.

We will establish a secure system to allow low risk frequent travellers between our countries to move efficiently across the border.

(2)The Secure Flow of Goods

We will implement a system to collaborate in identifying high risk goods while expediting the flow of low risk goods.

We will identify security threats arriving from abroad by developing common standards for screening cargo before it arrives in North America, while working to clear goods at the first port of entry.
We will adopt compatible security standards at production and distribution facilities to minimize security threats. We will expedite the flow of low risk traffic between our countries by establishing compatible commercial processes at the border.

We will expedite the flow of low risk goods between our countries by establishing secure procedures to clear goods away from the border, including at rail yards and at marine ports.
(3)Secure Infrastructure

We will relieve congestion at key crossing points by investing reciprocally in border infrastructure and identifying technological solutions that will help to speed movement across the border.
We will identify and minimize threats to our critical infrastructure including the airports, ports, bridges, tunnels, pipelines and powerlines that link our countries.

(4)Coordination and Information Sharing in the Enforcement of these Objectives

We will put the necessary tools and legislative framework in place to ensure that information and intelligence is shared in a timely and coherent way within our respective countries as well as between them.
We will strengthen coordination between our enforcement agencies for addressing common threats.

Next Steps

We will meet again early in the new year to review the critical paths that we have asked our officials to develop for realizing each of the objectives set out in the action plan. We will consult regularly to ensure continued progress on this plan to achieve the goals outlined as quickly as possible.

This joint action plan is an important step. Our governments are committed to building on this plan to continually identify and implement measures that can be taken to secure a smart border.
These measures are regarded by both governments as matters of the highest priority.

Ottawa, Canada
December 12, 2001
http://www.canadianembassy.org/border/declaration-en.asp

BUSH '04 = DRAFT '05

[Dems Will Win]

1. Here's what Ruppert says on Canada:

THE BIGGEST DIFFERENCE FROM VIETNAM

But before readers start counseling their 19-year-olds to learn French and start drinking Moosehead beer in anticipation of an extended Canadian vacation, they need to review the “Smart Border Declaration” (SBD), signed in December 2001 between the United States and its frosty northern neighbor.

The SBD was designed to “keep terrorists out” of the U.S., but it also serves to keep U.S. citizens in the U.S. with “pre-clearance agreements,” “advance passenger notifications,” shared databases, and an agreement from Canada to extradite Selective Service scofflaws. Sweden, long a haven for draft evaders with an aptitude for foreign languages, also redesigned its laws to prohibit asylum in 1995.

Moreover, Canada, Mexico and the United States are co-members of a regional military alliance with integrated staffs: Northcom.

In May 2002, The Simons Centre for Peace and Disarmament Studies released a 40-page report called Canadian armed forces under US command, authored by Michael Byers. While the report's principle cause of alarm was related to the question of Canadian sovereignty – given that a U.S. commander is always at the helm of Northcom – the implication for the draft and those who might wish to evade it is that an American citizen in Canada to avoid conscription might now be extradited using military law. Though exactly how this might happen is still unclear, since it hasn't happened yet. We need only review the bizarre legal gymnastics that the Bush administration has employed since 9/11 to maintain a concentration camp in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and to summarily declare American citizens “enemy combatants” on flimsy pretexts, then hold them incommunicado for almost two years.

[truthseeker1]

5. Is this Mike Ruppert?

Do you have a link for this post?
Thanks

[Dems Will Win]

9. Yup

http://www.fromthewilderness.com/free/ww3/022704_draft_goff.html

[truthseeker1]

12. Thanks

Saw Ruppert speak last month at a screening of "Painful Deceptions" and watched his video on 9/11 a couple weeks ago.

[Dems Will Win]

15. He's the MAN.

Literally, he used to be an LA cop until he found out that the CIA was supplying the cocaine to his jurisdiction.

[WMliberal]

2. so where should I go then?

New Zealand or Australia sounds nice

[Dems Will Win]

16. Go straight to your local Kerry meetup

Then work your tail off and if it falls off, put it back on then work some more until if falls off again!

It beats getting exploded by an IED, in my opinion.

If that doesn't work you'll still have a few months or weeks to get out of Dodge.

Also tell every young person and family member that BUSH '04 = DRAFT '05.

[serryjw]

24. GREAT bumpersticker!

BUSH '04 = DRAFT '05.

[camero]

3. I don't like this either

This is not just a draft but required military and government service. They need to fix this fast.

http://www.congress.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d108:H.R.163:

H.R.163

Title: To provide for the common defense by requiring that all young persons 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.

Latest Major Action: 2/3/2003 House committee/subcommittee actions. Status: Executive Comment Requested from DOD

http://www.congress.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d108:SN00089:

S.89

Title: A bill to provide for the common defense by requiring that all young persons 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.

Latest Major Action: 1/7/2003 Referred to Senate committee. Status: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Armed Services.

As far as I know these bills are still in the committee.

[Dems Will Win]

6. IGNORE these dem protest bills. They will NEVER even get to the floor

The only thing needed to reactivate the DRAFT is a TRIGGER RESOLUTION, a simple one liner. No new legislation such as this is needed. And Fritz Hollings, the sponsor of the Senate bill, said he wouldn't even vote for his own bill!

Kerry has a NO-DRAFT PLAN, while Bush is spending $28 mil to reactivate the DRAFT machinery this summer.

[camero]

7. I have a no draft plan

End the war. It's been more than a year. Why haven't these bills died in committee?

[Dems Will Win]

11. I have a no DRAFT plan

Work your butt off for Kerry until it falls off.

[camero]

13. Kerry doesn't want to end it either

I hope he's bluffing because it will become his war like Johnson's war became Nixon's war.

[Dems Will Win]

18. THAT IS COMPLETELY FALSE! KERRY HAS A NO-DRAFT PLAN:

Kerry just told 130 College Editors: NO DRAFT.

And he said he would have a froeign policy that would make the DRAFT "ABSOLUTELY UNNECESSARY"!

He also has a renewable energy plan so that "no more young men die for oil".

This summer Bush is reducing DRAFT ACTIVATION time by having the SSS conduct NATIONWIDE EXERCISES to test the whole system, even to the point of filling all DRAFT BOARD vacancies and gearing up the Alternative Service for COs for the first time in three decades. With the current reactivation plan due to go into effect in a few weeks, the SSS must report to the Director on March 31, 2005 they are tuned up and ready to conscript within 75 days of reauthorization from Congress (just a trigger resolution is needed, no new law). The first lottery for 20 year-olds could be June 15, 2005.

http://www.sss.gov/perfplan_fy2004.html

That's what Bush is doing. Quietly oiling up the DRAFT Machinery for Spring 2005.

Kerry's NO-DRAFT plan to raise 40,000 additional troops and avoid reinstatement of the draft is added up this way (my synthesis):

1. Move some paper-pushers to combat (lots of potential there in nearly a million non-active-duty)
2. Increase enlistment with real scholarships and pay raises
3. Let troops know Special Ops will hunt al-Queda, no more invasions needed, so Guard/Reserve re-up rate goes up. "Primarily a law enforcement effort, not a full military effort", say JK on MTP last Sunday.
4. Start a "Civilian Stability Corps" that would help in reconstructing Afghanistan and Iraq and relieve military pressure.
5. GET FOREIGN TROOPS TO COME INTO INSTEAD OF LEAVE IRAQ!!

http://www.candidatemap.com

"...I propose that we enlist thousands of them in a Civilian Stability Corps, a reserve organization of volunteers ready to help win the peace in troubled places. Like military reservists, they will have peacetime jobs; but in times of national need, they will be called into service to restore roads, renovate schools, open hospitals, repair power systems, draft a constitution, or build a police force. A Civilian Stability Corps can bring the best of America to the worst of the world—and reduce pressure on the military."
< Source: Kerry, John. "Protecting Our Military Families in Times of War: A Military Family Bill of Rights." March 17, 2004. http://johnkerry.com/pressroom/speeches/spc_2004_0317.html >

With this NO-DRAFT PLAN, Kerry will not have to resort to conscription, even after Bush screwed the whole thing up.


From STOPTHEDRAFT.COM

http://technologyreports.net/stopthedraft/?articleID=2550

What do a former fighter pilot in the National Guard and a former officer in the Navy have in common? Both have promised not to reinstate the military draft if elected president.

Senator John Kerry has promised that if elected president he will not reinstate the military draft, but will increase troop numbers by 40,000.

President Bush and his staff have also promised the American public that there are no plans to reinstate the military draft.

-snip-

John Kerry wants to deploy 40,000 more troops to Iraq and finish the job quickly. Yet when asked how he would do it, he said that a draft is not needed and people will enlist. To his advantage, however, Senator Kerry was an anti-war activist after serving his duties as a Navy officer in the Vietnam War and knows first-hand the pitfalls of the military draft.

-snip-

Kerry said on MTP that we don't need to invade whole nations beyond Afghanistan. He has a plan to increase 40,000 troops without a draft, a plan to bring in foreign troops to Iraq.

There's this: http://www.johnkerry.com/pressroom/clips/news_2004_0330b.html

“When I returned from service in the military, I testified to the Congress about the racism in the military, about the lopsided application of the draft, the impact that it had on minority communities, the lopsided number of casualties, both African-American and Hispanic, predominantly.

“And I testified to the Congress about the inequality of the application of the draft and the way in which they were treated when they came home, left in communities that were neglected and lacked health care and education and other issues.”


Also this: http://www.johnkerry.com/pressroom/clips/news_2003_1203a.html

"Kerry also said he doesn’t believe there is a need to reinstate the draft, a source of conflict during the Vietnam War. "

BUSH '04 = DRAFT '05
KERRY '04 = PNAC OUT THE DOOR!

[camero]

19. You never answered the post

Kerry will not end the Iraq war. I hope he does. It will be trouble for him if he doesn't.

[Dems Will Win]

20. Kerry will end the war and has talked about it a lot the last 3 weeks

Bush on the other hand is building 14 permanent military bases and two HUGE CIA complexes and intends to stay FOREVER. Then of course it's off to Syria, Lebanon, Iran, Sudan and Somalia (secret memo revealed by Wes Clark).

Kerry will get the troops home as soon as Kucinich could without turning the country over to the militias. And the French will give troops with the Russians as soon as Kerry gets in and shares the reconstruction contracts and the business.

You don't need a DRAFT for that. But Bush would need a DRAFT to stay permanently and invade the other 5 countries on the list. Think in terms of millions of men, plus a skills DRAFT of hundreds of thousands and a medical DRAFT of 60,000 to 80,000 per year.

Kerry looks French, you know, and they love him!

[camero]

21. I know what Bush is doing

I'm afraid Kerry will do the same and these bills not being voted down in committee (show me the vote if you have it) means the possibility is still there. Where are the extra 40,000 soldiers going to come from? Privatizing the military more?

BRING THE TROOPS HOME NOW!

[Dems Will Win]

14. They did die in committee

THey must be re-submitted now--and they won't be, they were just protests.

In fact the number of Rangel bills that have been brought to the floor since the '94 takeover of the house by the Republicans?

ZERO!

[camero]

17. Hasn't died

It's still in commitee.

http://www.congress.org/congressorg/bill.xc?billnum=S.89&congress=108

1/7/2003--Introduced. Universal National Service Act of 2003 - Declares that it is the obligation of every U.S. citizen, and every other person residing in the United States, between the ages of 18 and 26 to perform a two-year period of national service, unless exempted, either as a member of an active or reserve component of the armed forces or in a civilian capacity that promotes national defense. Requires induction into national service by the President. Sets forth provisions governing: (1) induction deferments, postponements, and exemptions, including exemption of a conscientious objector from military service that includes combatant training; and (2) discharge following national service. Amends the Military Selective Service Act to authorize the military registration of females.

http://www.congress.org/congressorg/bill.xc?billnum=S.89&congress=108#committees

http://www.congress.org/congressorg/bill.xc?billnum=H.R.163&congress=108

1/7/2003--Introduced. Universal National Service Act of 2003 - Declares that it is the obligation of every U.S. citizen, and every other person residing in the United States, between the ages of 18 and 26 to perform a two-year period of national service, unless exempted, either as a member of an active or reserve component of the armed forces or in a civilian capacity that promotes national defense. Requires induction into national service by the President. Sets forth provisions governing: (1) induction deferments, postponements, and exemptions, including exemption of a conscientious objector from military service that includes combatant training; and (2) discharge following national service. Amends the Military Selective Service Act to authorize the military registration of females.

http://www.congress.org/congressorg/bill.xc?billnum=H.R.163&congress=108#committees

Yeah sure, move along, nothing to see here.>sarcasm

[Dems Will Win]

22. I believe that the bill has to be reintroduced as a bill for 2004

and that has not even happened. They were protests.

[camero]

23. Link?

That's your opinion. Show the evidence.

[Dems Will Win]

25. There is no link. It's how the Congress works

The only way to get a bill that is stuck in committee to the floor is with a lot of sponsors and a floor vote. There are only about 14 House sponsors for Rangel's bill. As far as I know it has not been reintroduced for 2004 AND IT'S ALREADY JUNE. That's why it's called the Service Act of 2003.

RANGEL KNOWS IT IS NOT A SERIOUS BILL AND SO HE HASN'T EVEN BOTHERED, HAVING MADE HIS POINT.

Believe me, it's a protest bill that the GOP hates because it drafts women. These bills are COMPLETELY IRRELEVANT.

There already is a Draft law, in effect for 31 years, drafts men only for combat, 20-26...

[camero]

26. You sure?

They could very well dust it off in 2005. Either party. They could have voted it down in committee and it would be DOA. Kept it from coming to the floor.

You can call them protest bills all you like. It's nothing but hyperbole to say that until the bills actually die.

Edit: no link. How convenient.

[Dems Will Win]

28. Not everything has a link

But you are right, they could be re-introduced at any time. What I'm saying is that there is a draft law already in place, that these bill call to draft women so they would never come to the floor.

These bills are thus only a distraction from the real threat which is Bush reactivating the draft through the law that already exists.

This only needs a "trigger resolution" to bring back the draft, no new law is needed.

The Dem bills are something only someone from the other side would want to focus on as they make it seem like the Dems want the DRAFT when it is really the other way around.

If you are for Kerry start understanding the SSS Performance Plan for 2004 and criticize that. They are gearing up the Alternaitve Service and getting ready the Medical DRAFT. That document (and there IS a link) reduces SSS DRAFT ACTIVATION TIME FROM 193 days (current) to 75 days (March 31, 2005), making the first DRAFT LOTTERY possible by June 15, 2005.

Wake up and smell the hidden bombshells in
http://www.sss.gov/perfplan_fy2004.html if you really want to see how the draft would come back under Bush II. I've been studying it for 8 months and you have clearly not absorbed the implications of the government's own document.

Disprove what I am saying about the AS or the HCPDS or even the intense activity behind creating the NEW DRAFT, the Special Skills DRAFT.

Then get back to me. THanks for playing!

[camero]

29. Then kill the bills and the other draft law

IIRC, Fritz Hollings is a pub and these bills have bi-partisan sponsors. Your ruse to paint me as the other side is ineffective.

You don't think that when Kerry is elected the RW won't use the war to pound Kerry? Because they will. He should end this crap immediately.

[Dems Will Win]

32. You obviously know little about all this

Allow me to correct you.

First of all Hollings is a Democrat and would die to hear himself thought a Pub.

Second, there is nothing John Kerry can do other than jawbone Rangel and Hollings to not reintroduce those bills for 2004, which they have not so maybe he did do the little he could to kill them!

Third, Hollings said that if his own bill ever did come to the floor, he himself would not vote for it!

Now if that isn't a protest bill I don't know what is...

[camero]

35. I'm corrected on that

Kerry on the other hand could campaign to have these bills killed in committee and increase his vote count in the elections.

[Dems Will Win]

36. Actually, when he spoke to the college editors, and I believe it was

April 14, they brought up the Rangel bill--and he said that he was not for it and that with a "sensible foreign policy" we would not need the draft.

Sensible meaning no further invasions and no keeping France and Russia and China and the rest out of Iraq reconstruction and so security. And then we get out of Iraq. He has outlined his strategy the week before, although of course the corporatist media did not cover it.

[camero]

37. Well that makes me feel better if he would veto

I'm glad I gave up my CDL.

[John_Shadows_1]

4. An unexpected benefit of getting older....

.... I don't have to worry about being personally sucked in to George Bush's insane imperial raider force.

[Dems Will Win]

8. That may not be true. How old are you?

They are planning to DRAFT doctors and nurses up to age 44. And they are going to keep a massive Database they are designing right now for a Critical Skills Draft, man or woman, up to age 34 or 44, and it will be for HUNDREDS of occupations.

[truthseeker1]

10. True, but as a taxpayer you are still forced to support it (eom)

[mopaul]

27. we shouldn't run away, but stay and FIGHT THEM.......N/T

[Swivel Gun]

30. Ha ha ha

What draft? Is there a draft?

[Ultima]

31. There will be no draft

I don't know why you all are so worried about a draft.

http://www.snopes.com/politics/military/draft.asp

I can say, with 100% certainty, that there will not be a draft. Instituting the draft is a last resort measure when you are completely out of soldiers, or are involved in a world war. Consider the fact that a good number of people who would be drafted are people who oppose the war in Iraq. If you were an Army general, would you want to command troops that would sooner shoot you than the enemy? Of course not. That is another reason that there will be no draft.

Any way you look at it, a draft just doesn't make sense, and bringing it about isn't possible. So stop worrying about it.

(edit)"It's been more than a year. Why haven't these bills died in committee?"

They haven't died in committee yet, but they are languishing there with almost no support, so they are as good as dead. So again, there will be no draft.

[Name removed]

33. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Dems Will Win]

34. THis is no joke

Bush is spending $28 million to have the Alternative Service be ready next year. Besides staffing up all the draft boards for the Spring of 2005, the AS is being geared up for the first time EVER. And the Medical DRAFT is being made ready as wel.

They will even be drawing balls from the lottery jar this summer and issuing sample medical exam report orders!

Do you know anyone 17 to 24 who would be eligible for the 2005 draft and beyond?

Doesn't matter if they are Republican. They can still get drafted and kilt.

[Ultima]

39. The draft will not be reinstated

Any reimposition of the draft will require congressional approval. We already know that two bills to so do have little to no support. And even if the matter were brought before a vote, it would fail to get even a simple majority, since I'm sure no Democrats would vote for it, and most Republicans would also vote "nay" since they 1)don't see the need for a draft and 2) would be committing political suicide by voting "yea".

So once again, there will be no draft. And the reason he is staffing up the draft boards is simply because, as the Snopes article said:

About 10,000 to 12,000 people serve 20-year terms as unpaid board members. Schuback said because the current board system was set up in 1979, and the bulk of volunteers stayed the full 20 years, many of the appointments expired beginning in 1999.

That means hiring replacements has been going on for several years. Confusion arose in recent weeks when someone posted the hiring notice on www.defendamerica.mil, a Pentagon Web site about the war on terror, even though the Selective Service System is not a part of the Defense Department....

Several newspapers around the world wrote stories, leading to questions about whether the government was planning to restart drafting enlistees. The stories appeared as news media wrote increasingly about the Pentagon's extensive mobilization of National Guard and Reserve troops for duty in Iraq.

"It was a case of bad timing because of the war in Iraq and news about deployments," Pentagon spokesman Maj. Michael Shavers said of the Web posting.


I can guarantee you, THERE WILL BE NO DRAFT. And if this is a reason that you decide to vote for Kerry, you are being misled. There is zero chance of the draft being reinstated, so we shouldn't even be having this discussion. They can draw balls and spend money and fill jobs all they want, but since the draft will never be reimposed by Congress, NOBODY WILL BE DRAFTED.

[Dems Will Win]

42. Wrong! Read this and get back to me in the morning:

Greetings!

The following timeline gives you the main events indicating the resumption of the military draft. According to this, the draft will be needed to maintain troop levels in Iraq past March 2005, barring double deployments. $28 million is allocated by the Selective Service to reduce activation time from the current 8 months to 75 days by March 31, 2005. If Bush asks Congress on April 1, 2005 to reinstate conscription, the first Draft Lottery could be June 15, 2005. A Medical Draft and a new Special Skills Draft would also be activated automatically.

Impending Draft Timeline

1994 – The Grand Chessboard by Zbignew Brzezinski compares Central Asia to a chess game with Russia and China--which must eventually result in an American “win”. Control of the world’s oil supply and dominance in the 21st Century is at stake, as cheap oil ends in the 2010s. Noting that the Central Asian Republics are infinitely more important than any other region--save the Mideast--because “an enormous concentration of natural gas and oil reserves is located in the region, in addition to important minerals, including gold… Any successful American policy must focus on Eurasia as a whole and be guided by a Geostrategic design…That puts a premium on maneuver and manipulation in order to prevent the emergence of a hostile coalition that could eventually seek to challenge America's primacy…"
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0465027261/102-5321285-9753763?v=glance

1990s – “Project For A New American Century” and other right-wing organizations develop strategy for a “uni-polar world” ruled by the United States with many US bases in the Mideast and Central Asia. Invading Iraq and controlling the world’s oil supply becomes the Neo-Con manifesto.
http://abcnews.go.com/sections/nightline/DailyNews/pnac_030310.html
http://www.presentdanger.org/pdf/frontier/1031neocon.pdf
Article by Will Pitt: http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article1665.htm
http://www.newamericancentury.org/RebuildingAmericasDefenses.pdf

September 11, 2001 – The 9-11 Attack. A “War on Terror” is begun by Bush with the agreement of the Congress. In the mission of the Selective Service, it is stated that the Volunteer Army is only intended for peacetime. In case of war, the nation may turn to the Selective Service. That is why it must always be kept as an option, even if dormant.

January 8, 2002 - On January 8, 2002, President Bush signed the No Child Left Behind Act, supposedly to provide accountability education policies. Yet hidden within the 670-page piece of legislation is Section 9528: “…each local educational agency receiving assistance under this Act shall provide, on a request made by military recruiters or an institution of higher education, access to secondary school students names, addresses, and telephone listings.” All schools must comply with this unfunded mandate or they lose their federal funding. This amounts to legislated blackmail for student names. The act also says: “A secondary school student or the parent of the student may request that the student’s name, address, and telephone listing … not be released without prior written parental consent, and the local educational agency or private school shall notify parents of the option to make a request and shall comply with any request.”
http://www.ed.gov/policy/elsec/leg/esea02/index.html

Early 2003 - Iraq War, 250,000 out of 480,000 active-duty troops deployed, conquer Iraq within a few weeks. Yet the U.S. has no plan ready for reconstruction or democracy and Iraqis, happy at liberation from Saddam, grow sour at the slow pace, the continued lack of electricity and fuel and the isolated civil control of the CPA. Garner soon replaced by Bremer who is no better at speeding up Reconstruction, and the resistance grows with disaffected Iraqis, old regrouped Baathists and new foreign fighters. Except for the British, substantial foreign troops are impossible, given Bush’s desire to keep total control of Iraq. The lack of diplomacy, planning and incompetence adds years to the time high US troop levels will be needed to maintain control of Iraq and rebuild and exploit its oilfields.

Summer 2003 – Philadelphia Draft Board members “unexpectedly” told to recruit new members for Board vacancies during Summer training. (from Nov. 3 Salon article)
http://archive.salon.com/news/feature/2003/11/03/draft/index_np.html

July 25, 2003 – World Net Daily article on plans for the medical draft (HCPDS). System could draft up to 80,000 doctors, nurses and specialists, men and women.
http://wnd.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=33754

September 3, 2003 – The Congressional Budget Office warns that “the Army lacks sufficient active-duty forces to maintain its current level of nearly 150,000 troops in Iraq beyond next spring (march 2004). "The Army does not have enough active-duty component forces to simultaneously maintain the occupation at its current size, limit deployments to one year, and sustain all of its other commitments" http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A16689-2003Sep2?language=printer

September 23, 2003 – Draft Board Recruitment ad appears on Defense.Link site. First public ad for Draft Boards in decades. Page scrubbed within a few days of being noticed by some media in early November. Spokesman says there is “no plan” to reinstate draft, which must be authorized by Congress. http://www.defendamerica.mil/articles/sss092203.html
http://www.thememoryhole.org/mil/draft-boards.htm

October 16, 2003 – Donald Rumsfeld memo leaks, saying Iraq “will be a long, hard slog”. www.usatoday.com/news/washington/ executive/rumsfeld-memo.htm

Nov. 4, 2003 – NY Times article on Army Honor Guard Company B being sent to MidEast, revealing how thin troops are being stretched to cover the 2004-2005 rotation.
http://villagenews.weblogger.com/stories/storyReader$10007

Nov. 5, 2003 – Toronto Star article quotes Ned Lebow “This (draft board ad) is significant”, Lebow, a presidential scholar at Dartmouth College in New Hampshire and former professor of strategy at the National War College in Washington, adds, "What the department of defence is doing is creating the infrastructure to make the draft a viable option should the administration wish to go this route." http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&c=Article&cid=1068073289288&call_pageid=968332188854

Nov. 5, 2003 – Guardian article on Draft Board ad. SSS spokesman Amon said 80% of 11,000 Draft Board slots are vacant. (2,000 local boards, over 8,000 empty seats) http://www.guardian.co.uk/usa/story/0,12271,1077906,00.html

Nov. 12, 2003 – “If President Bush is re-elected, it is likely that he will reinstate the draft. The war on terrorism will not end in Iraq, but instead will proceed into countries like Syria and Iran," said Daniel Ellsberg, of Pentagon Papers fame. http://www.seacoastonline.com/news/11122003/news/60246.htm

November, 2003 – Selective Service 2004 “Performance Plan” summarizes how $28 million will be allocated in 2004 to reduce draft activation time from current 8 months to just 75 days. Nation-wide Readiness Exercises, testing the Draft Lottery and examination system, as well as gearing up the Medical Draft (3.4 million doctors and nurses, men and women age 20-44 are eligible). Ominously, the Alternative Service delivery system for Conscientious Objectors is readied for the first time in decades, with the SSS being funded to compile lists of available Alternative Service jobs for those who win non-military CO status. All systems will be pushed to reach 95% readiness during 2004.
http://www.sss.gov/perfplan_fy2004.html

Nov. 23, 2003 – Boston Globe article: “Army Reserve battling an exodus
War is seen as drain on ranks. The US Army Reserve fell short of its reenlistment goals this fiscal year, underscoring Pentagon fears that the protracted conflict in Iraq could cause a crippling exodus from the armed services.”
http://www.boston.com/news/nation/washington/articles/2003/11/23/army_reserve_battling_an_exodus/

Nov. 24, 2003 – NY Times: Army plans for 100,000 troops until 2006 in Iraq.
http://www.iht.com/articles/118775.html

Nov. 26, 2003 – Ron Paul (R-TX) says “Draft likely to be reinstated”. http://www.lewrockwell.com/paul/paul144.html

December, 2003 - Draft Board Recruitment ad re-appears on the Selective Service Home Page with 2 new sentences stressing the ad has “NO connection” to Iraq. (scrubbed March 2004) http://www.sss.gov

Dec. 4, 2003 – Ted Rall predicts Bush will “have to bring back the draft.” Notes 8,000 empty Draft Board seats to be filled by Spring 2005. Wonders about a “February (2005) Surprise” if Bush is re-elected. http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=127&ncid=742&e=7&u=/uclicktext/20031204/cm_ucru/acolddraft

December 22, 2003 – In an article entitled “Beware of Attempts to Revive Military Draft,” Newsday reports that “the Center on Conscience and War… executive director, J. E. McNeil… has heard of rumblings, from the Republican side of the aisle in Congress, about a draft after the election”. The opinion piece worries whether a revived draft “would give this war-without-end presidency an endless source of warm bodies to pursue its cowboy foreign policy.” Author Keeler also wonders about a “February (2005) Surprise”.
http://www.newsday.com/news/opinion/ny-vpkee223594883dec22,0,6735184.story?coll=ny-viewpoints-headlines

December, 2003 - The Selective Service Register magazine talks about the new Special Skill Draft, a top priority for Director Lewis Brodsky. Like the Medical Draft, the Special Skills Draft will induct men and women up to age 44 if they have needed DoD skills like computer expertise, engineering or they are a linguist. As with the health care draftees, no medical deferments are allowed except for total disability. Anyone with these skills will have to register with the SSS if Bush is re-elected and asks Congress for this. Moving quickly!
http://www.sss.gov/PDFs/NovDec2003-Register.pdf (go to P. 6) – from sss,gov home page

December 29, 2003 - WP article: “Army Stops Many Soldiers From Quitting, Orders Extend Enlistments to Curtail Troop Shortages” 40,000 soldiers and Guard put on Stop-Loss. A “Draft Per Se” already exists! With the new stop-loss orders the Armed Forces actually go 20,000 past 480,000 active troops, to 500,000 active troops, the maximum before Congress steps in.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A36979-2003Dec28.html

[Ultima]

43. How will it pass Congress?

How to you expect the draft to be approved by Congress? I'm certain no Democrat would vote for it. And enough level-headed Republicans would also vote against it, so it is certain that it will not get a majority, therefore it won't pass Congress, therefore it will not happen. But if you think that there will be a draft, I'm curious as to how you think it will get past Congress?

Also, as I said before, there is a reason that those draft board positions are being filled. Those who take those positions serve twenty-year terms. And, since the last major appointments were made in the early 80s, thousands of those twenty-year terms are up, so they are being refilled. It's a coincidence, nothing more. If the terms were twenty-five years instead of twenty, we wouldn't even be hearind about this.

[Dems Will Win]

45. Passing Congress is really very simple. Bush waits until another big

attack. Then he goes to Congress and tells them "We're not going to cut and run from Iraq. And I need the draft reauthorized through the trigger resolution immediately so we don't leave the region in chaos".

That's all he has to say and Congress will give it to him, despite all the opposition and political cost.

Later on Diebold and the boys can clean up the political mess in Bush II for the '06 mid-terms.

Right now, seeing as how Bush is already making noises to attack Syria, Lebanon and Iran, he will likely address the Congress on April 1, 2005 and ask for reinstatement.

No new law is needed. All that is required is a simple TRIGGER RESOLUTION that reauthorizes conscription under current law. He would wait until March 31, 2005 to receive the official word that the DRAFT is ready to go within 75 days, although the Director could tell him before that, say February. I would say June 15, 2005 is not the earliest date for the first lotteries (Combat, Medical and Critical Skills) but the latest.

You can stop talking about the irrelevant Dem bills. There is already the BUSH DRAFT train headed down the track, aimed at a home near you.

[Just Me]

38. I commend you, Dems Will Win!!!!

:yourock:

YOU REALLY DO!!!

[Scooter24]

40. I say

if they start the draft, that we all move to Cancun, grab a few beers, and watch the fireworks comfortably from our chairs on the beach. :)

[daleo]

41. I gather that up until about 1969 Canada accepted almost all

Draft dodgers or military deserters on purely immigration grounds, without considering them in a political sense (although it was implied, that if the U.S. pushed it, they would be considered to be political refugees). At about that time (1969), Trudeau was more direct and basically gave U.S. citizens fleeing the war a more explicit guarantee about refugee status.

So, whether U.S. citizens could escape the draft by immigrating to Canada in this day and age, is a bit more complicated than what you might hear, going strictly on historical precedent.

[Cascadian]

44. I wonder what would happen to that treaty if the NDP win?

If the U.S. really does start up the draft and we go to anymore wars, I wonder if Jack Layton would allow some draft dodgers to come to Canada under some other status?


John

[robertpaulsen]

46. Keep up the great research, Dems Will Win!

Another great thread to bookmark. I still find it hard to believe there are still people out there who don't realize this is the elephant in the living room that Bush refuses to talk about, yet is doing everything behind the scenes to set up for 2005. WAKE UP AMERICA!!!