Mandatory Military Draft 2005
Guess what is QUIETLY being put through the House and Senate - a DRAFT
starting 2005. If you are against this, you better pass this on
IMMEDIATELY. I was not aware of this until I received this today.
Mandatory draft for men and women ages 18-26 starting June 15, 2005,
is
something that everyone should know about. This literally effects
everyone since we all have or know children that will have to go if
this
bill passes. There is pending legislation in the house and senate
(companion bills: S 89 and HR 163) which will time the program's
initiation so the draft can begin as early as the spring of 2005 (just
after the 2004 Presidential election). The administration is quietly
trying to get these bills passed now, while the public's attention is
on
the election outcome, so our action on this is needed immediately.
Details and links follow. This plan, among other things, eliminates
higher education as a shelter and includes women in the draft. Also,
crossing into Canada has already been made very difficult.
Actions
Please send this on to all the parents and teachers you know, and all
the
aunts and uncles, grandparents, godparents... And, let your children
know - - it is their future, and they can be a powerful voice for
change!
This legislation is called HR 163 and can be found in detail at the
following website:
http://thomas.loc.gov/ Just enter in "HR 163" and
click
search and will bring up the bill for you to read. It is less than
two
pages long. If this bill passes, it will include ALL MEN and ALL WOMEN
from
ages 18-26 in a draft for military action. In addition, college will
no
longer be an option for avoiding the draft and they will be signing an
agreement with the Canada which will no longer permit anyone
attempting
to dodge the draft to stay within it's borders. This bill also
includes
the
extension of military service for all those that are currently active.
If
you go to the select service web site and read their 2004 FYI Goals
you
will
see that the reasoning for this is to increase the size of the
military
in
case of terrorism. This is a critical piece of legislation, this will
effect our undergraduates, our children and our grandchildren.
Please take the time to write your congressman and let them know how
you
feel about this legislation.
http://www.house.gov/ http://www.senate.gov/In addition, please write to your representatives and ask them why
they
aren't telling their constituents about these bills and write to
newspapers
and other media outlets to ask them why they're not covering this
important
story. The draft $28 million has been added to the 2004 selective
service
system budget to prepare for a military draft that could start as
early
as
June 15, 2005. Selective service must report to Bush on March 31,
2005,
that the system, which has lain dormant for decades, is ready for
activation. Please see www.sss.gov/perfplan_fy2004.html to view the
Selective Service System annual performance plan, fiscal year 2004.
The
Pentagon has quietly begun a public campaign to fill all 10,350 draft
board
positions and 11,070 appeals board slots nationwide. Though this is an
unpopular election year topic, military experts and influential
members
of
congress are suggesting that if Rumsfeld's prediction of a "long, hard
slog"
in Iraq and Afghanistan (and permanent state of war on terrorism)
proves
accurate, the US may have no choice but to draft.
www.hslda.org/legislation/national/2003/s89/default.asp entitled the
Universal National service Act of 2003, "to provide for the common
defense
by requiring that all young persons (age 18-26) 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." These active bills currently sit in
the
committee on armed services. Dodging the draft will be more difficult
than
those from the Vietnam era. College and Canada will not be options.
In December 2001, Canada and the US signed a "smart border
declaration",
which could be used to keep would-be draft dodgers in. Signed by
Canada's
minister of foreign affairs, John Manley, and US Homeland Security
director,
Tom Ridge, the declaration involves a 30 point plan which implements,
among
other things, a "pre-clearance agreement" of people entering and
departing
each country. Reforms aimed at making the draft more equitable along
gender
and class lines also eliminates higher education as a shelter.
Underclassmen would only be able to postpone service until the end of
their
current semester. Seniors would have until the end of the academic
year.
What to do: Tell your friends, Contact your legislators and ask them
to
oppose these bills Just type "congress" into the AOL search engine and
input
your zip code. A list of your reps will pop up with a way to email
them
directly.
We cannot just sit and pretend that by ignoring it, it will go away.
We
must voice our concerns and create the world we want to live in for
our
children and grandchildren.
-end of email.
goodboy speaking now: I'm not sure what to make of this. I know that none of us would put anything past BushCo, but HR163 is from Jan '03. Maybe it's just someone newly involved in politics over-reacting.
thoughts?