U.S. Headed for a Military Draft
The following is a press release from April 21, 2004, by the Kucinich campaign
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Kucinich: U.S. Headed for a Military Draft
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 21, 2004
Contact: Matt Harris, (216) 403-3980, press@kucinich.us, Terre Lundy, (515) 988-5534
The United States is headed for a military draft as soon as next year, Democratic presidential candidate Dennis Kucinich said today: "Every sign points in that direction."
"Not only has the Administration daily renewed its commitment to continue the occupation and keep our troops there indefinitely," Kucinich pointed out, "but now there are even more troubling indications, including Congressional support, that make the draft more and more likely."
Other nations that have been part of the U.S. military coalition are "responding to the concerns of their own citizens" by pulling out their troops, putting an even greater burden on U.S. forces, he said. "First Spain, now Honduras and the Dominican Republic, possibly the Philippines, and even expressions of concern from Poland, which has the second largest military contingent in Iraq," Kucinich noted.
Even before the other nations publicly announced their intentions, the Pentagon had already ordered 20,000 U.S. troops to stay in Iraq beyond their tour of duty. Now, with the exodus of troops from other nations, "Nour own troops are stretched even further and are in more danger," he said.
Kucinich, an Ohio Congressman who led the fight on the floor of the U.S. House in opposition to the war authorization resolution in 2002, said the recent escalation in violence in Iraq is evidence that the Administration miscalculated the scope of the military effort and misjudged the reactions of the Iraqi people to the invasion and occupation.
"Now, leaders of both the Republican and Democratic parties are talking about ways to increase U.S. troop strength there to 'stabilize' the country," Kucinich said. "It was the invasion itself that destabilized the country, and the longer we stay, the more our young men and women will be targets."
As recently as yesterday, a senior Republican lawmaker raised the possibility that restoring the draft might be the only way to meet the increasing security demands in Iraq, Kucinich said. "It would take an act of Congress, but this is the same Congress that voted to authorize the war and later voted to fund it." He also pointed out that legislation has already been introduced in Congress, supported by some members of both parties, to resume the draft.
At the same time, Kucinich said that over the past few months, the Selective Service System has been quietly filling vacancies on local draft boards all across the country claiming that the actions are "merely administrative." Kucinich said he sees it otherwise: "The Pentagon has already sent tens of thousands of National Guard men and women and Reservists to Iraq," and some U.S. leaders have said the military needs 40,000 or more new personnel, in part to offset declining re-enlistments.
"I assure you, both Republicans and Democrats are looking at the draft as a way of meeting those quotas and meeting the demands of our current military policy," Kucinich said.
Kucinich, the only Democratic challenger to presumptive Democratic nominee John Kerry, has been campaigning across the country urging voters to support his candidacy to send a message to the Democratic Party that it needs to take a position against the war, in favor of turning over peacekeeping and reconstruction to the United Nations, and for bringing U.S. troops home.
"The Democratic Party must have the courage to take a strong stand to bring this war to an end," Kucinich said. "The lives of countless young men and women are on the line."
He concluded, "America must take a new course: get out of Iraq and stop the threat of a draft."
For information about the National campaign: http://www.kucinich.us
For Congressman Kucinich's Schedule: http://www.kucinich.us/schedule.htm.
To schedule an interview with Kucinich or a spokesperson: jonathans@kucinich.us
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