CBS Newsbreak with Rather quotes Kerry's draft statement

[59millionmorons]

YeeeeeeeeeeeS

[Julian English]

1. Details?

What is the statement?

[59millionmorons]

4. Read this

There is "a great potential" for a military draft in the United States should President Bush win re-election in November, Democratic challenger John Kerry said Thursday during an interview with The Des Moines Register.

"With George Bush, the plan for Iraq is more of the same and the great potential of a draft," Kerry said during a meeting with Register reporters and editors before headlining a rally at the Iowa State Fairgrounds


http://www.desmoinesregister.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20041015/NEWS09/410150395/1001

[movonne]

2. Is this a joke!!!

[KittyWampus]

3. Kerry Statement Here

There is "a great potential" for a military draft in the United States should President Bush win re-election in November, Democratic challenger John Kerry said Thursday during an interview with The Des Moines Register.

"With George Bush, the plan for Iraq is more of the same and the great potential of a draft," Kerry said during a meeting with Register reporters and editors before headlining a rally at the Iowa State Fairgrounds.

Bush campaign aides dismissed Kerry's comments as "irresponsible" and "the mother of all cheap political scare tactics."

Kerry and Bush have both said repeatedly that neither would reinstate the draft. Bush pledged during the debates to maintain the "all-volunteer army."

Kerry has said a draft is "possible" under Bush and has characterized the heavy use of National Guard and Reserve troops as a "backdoor draft."

Kerry's comments Thursday went further.

"With George Bush, the plan for Iraq is more of the same and the great potential of the draft. Because if we go it alone, I don't know how you do it with the current overextension" of the military, Kerry said.

http://www.dmregister.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20...

[faithnotgreed]

5. kerrys just telling the truth. theyre tragically overextended as it is

you cant have more of the same as you get with bush, and expect the "manpower" to just appear

[WI_DEM]

6. Good

this is what the debate should be on.

[MidwestTransplant]

7. We also need to make clear that there is no college exemption

I bet people don't know the rules changed post Vietnam. A lot fo people probably think they will hide out in college.

[spanone]

8. I didn't know that had changed. Are there any deferments planned?

[MidwestTransplant]

10. See below.

http://www.sss.gov/viet.htm

HOW THE DRAFT HAS CHANGED SINCE VIETNAM
If a draft were held today, it would be dramatically different from the one held during the Vietnam War. A series of reforms during the latter part of the Vietnam conflict changed the way the draft operated to make it more fair and equitable. If a draft were held today, there would be fewer reasons to excuse a man from service.

Before Congress made improvements to the draft in 1971, a man could qualify for a student deferment if he could show he was a full-time student making satisfactory progress toward a degree.


Under the current draft law, a college student can have his induction postponed only until the end of the current semester. A senior can be postponed until the end of the academic year.

If a draft were held today, local boards would better represent the communities they serve.
The changes in the new draft law made in 1971 included the provision that membership on the boards was required to be as representative as possible of the racial and national origin of registrants in the area served by the board.

A draft held today would use a lottery to determine the order of call.
Before the lottery was implemented in the latter part of the Vietnam conflict, Local Boards called men classified 1-A, 18 1/2 through 25 years old, oldest first. This resulted in uncertainty for the potential draftees during the entire time they were within the draft-eligible age group. A draft held today would use a lottery system under which a man would spend only one year in first priority for the draft - either the calendar year he turned 20 or the year his deferment ended. Each year after that, he would be placed in a succeedingly lower priority group and his liability for the draft would lessen accordingly. In this way, he would be spared the uncertainty of waiting until his 26th birthday to be certain he would not be drafted.

[Lex]

9. Good sound bite for John.

MORE OF THE SAME = DRAFT (at least eventually)

Everybody knows that he's correct. Glad to hear him SAY it.