From Draft NOtices, November - December, 2003
— Rick Jahnkow
Ever since the last draft ended in 1973, proposals to bring back conscription have lacked the support needed to win passage. However, several factors are developing that are adding momentum in Congress for the idea of forcing young people into the military, and the Bush administration may wind up revising its previously stated opposition to reactivating the draft.
A recent news report in the Washington, D.C. newspaper The Hill says that key Democrats in Congress are about to make another push for a military draft "as part of a critical barrage they are preparing to launch against President Bush over the length of troop deployments and the heavy reliance on reservists in Iraq."
One of the key Democrats is Rep. Charles Rangel (NY), who along with Sen. Ernest Hollings (D-SC) introduced a bill in January that would require that all males and females between the ages of 18 and 26 perform two years of "service." Under the Rangel/Hollings proposal, any draftees that were not needed by the military would be assigned to a civilian job that, "as determined by the President, promotes the national defense, including national or community service and homeland security."
Committee Opposed to Militarism and the Draft (COMD)
From Draft NOtices, September - October, 2003
— Jorge Mariscal
One of the most eloquent voices speaking out against the folly of George W. Bush, Inc.'s invasion and occupation of Iraq is Fernando Suarez del Solar. An average-sized man with large eyes and a serene expression, Mr. Suarez speaks imperfect English and often apologizes to his audiences. But what he has to say in his native Spanish is nothing less than one of the most intelligent, powerful, and absolutely riveting analyses of why Bush and Co. must be stopped.
Last March 27, Mr. Suarez's son, Marine Lance Cpl. Jesus Alberto Suarez del Solar Navarro died in Iraq when he stepped on an unexploded U.S. cluster bomb. Because his unit was not informed about the presence of the tiny bombs, Jesus and his fellow soldiers entered the heavily mined field. Mr. Suarez's eyes wander off when he recounts the story of how his injured son was left alone for over two hours because the commanding officer would not allow other Marines to return to the scene of the accident.
Another Mexican hero
brought home
Under the Stars and Stripes
— María Herrera Sobek
From Draft NOtices, September - October, 2003
— Lorraine Demi
One in Five Female Cadets and a 7th Grader Sexually Assaulted
Draft NOtices recently reported (March/April 2003) on a series of rape allegations by female cadets at the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, CO. Now, many months later, the investigations are underway, courts-martial have begun, the top brass at the Academy has been replaced and overridden in decisions made before their replacement, and more investigations continue. Yet the women attacked by their "equals" in a school they thought would guide their future are still suffering. Further, we learn now that even younger girls visiting the Academy for summer camps are at risk of assault by male Air Force Academy cadets. Raping young girls and women seems to be an epidemic at the Academy. In fact, a recent survey shows that nearly one in five female cadets at the Academy report being sexually assaulted.
Ninth CIRCUIT COURT RULING: CONFRONTING MILITARISM BY USING EQUAL ACCESS TO HIGH SCHOOLS
When the military comes to your local high school, you have a legal right to give students an opposing view. This has been the position taken by federal district courts in Florida, Pennsylvania and Illinois and two federal appellate courts. The most broadly-worded decision came from a case that COMD took to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in the 1980s. Here is the background:
