As you know, the Pentagon is calling on a lot more troops to Iraq (more). The problem is, those troops don't exist, and even private contractors are running out of corpses. Not only do they not have enough bodies enlisted, but the ones they do have are quitting as quickly as they can (hence stop-loss orders in droves). Now I want you to read these statements by Sen. Chuck Hagel (R). They were made to the Sentate Foreign Relations committee on Tuesday (more).
"There's not an American that doesn't understand what we are engaged in today and what the prospects are for the future. If that's the case, why shouldn't we ask all of our citizens to bear some responsibility and pay some price? [We need to force] our citizens to understand the intensity and depth of challenges we face."
To be clear: he's calling for the draft, and the punch line is that Bush may have dug America into a deep enough hole that American kids may not be able to do a damn thing to stop it. Bill S. 89 is currently in the Senate which would require all young Americans to serve a year of military service (with no option for “conscientious objector” status). There is a similar bill in the house (HR 163). Both of these are Democratic bills if you're wondering (more), but have both Republican and Democratic support. Only the Libertarian party is officially objecting to it.
Does it not freak anyone out that the major media is barely mentioning that both Bush and Kerry are supporting the draft? That voting for either major party is a vote for conscription (more)? I'm not looking foward to watching friends die because their government forced them to pick up a gun, travel around the world, and kill some other pawn.
Feel free to keep telling yourself “it could never happen” (more).
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