Committee Opposed to Militarism and the Draft (COMD)

: Jesus D. Mendez Carbajal; Articles Archive; 01 April 2016; Hits: 1614

Water Crises, Environmental Racism and the U.S. Department of Defense

From Draft NOtices, April-June 2016

— Jesus D. Mendez Carbajal

In March 1977 the United Nations deemed water an essential human right, stating that “All peoples, whatever their stage of development and social and economic conditions, have the right to have access to drinking water in quantities and of a quality equal to their basic needs.” This is rightly concluded given that the human body is made up of 60-70% water, and lack of access to potable and clean water is potentially life-threatening. Despite this UN declaration, the 2013 United Nations International Year of Water Cooperation website states that “there are still an approximate 780 million people who do not have access to water and 2.5 billion people who do not have access to adequate sanitation.” The 2013 UN Water website goes further by stating that “~3.5 planets Earth would be needed to sustain a global population achieving the current lifestyle of the average European or North American.”

A 2014 report by Environmental America found that the Department of Defense (DoD) is the third highest polluter of waterways, a serious concern given that the DoD has hundreds of bases all over the world. This is one of several red flags pointing out how the global capitalist system is not a sustainable, equitable, or reciprocal socioeconomic model of organization or life.

Flint, Michigan, is one of many global communities that has faced water pollution issues. Others include the state of Virginia, Washington, D.C., the Dine (Navajo) Nation, different countries across Africa, and possibly many more in the years to come given aging water infrastructure, lack of access to clean and potable water, and climate change. The current situation in Flint, a largely Black/African-American, working-class and poor community, is a multilayered issue that affects low-income people, with disproportionate impact on Black Flint residents and their families. What happened in Flint demonstrates the limits of U.S. government (local, state and federal) and the racist, nativist, classist, and sexist views held by its leadership and representatives. In December of 2015 the situation was declared a state of emergency by Flint Mayor Karen Weaver, and then by President Obama on January 14, 2016.

: Kathy Barker; Articles Archive; 01 April 2016; Hits: 1473

Counter Recruiting at Educational Conventions

From Draft NOtices, April-June 2016

— Kathy Barker

As many counter-recruitment groups do, Washington Truth in Recruiting (WaTiR) has participated in dozens of tabling events. Usually these are local, and we are invited because of contacts we have made within the schools or peace communities. School career fairs, state PTA meetings, local school counselor meetings, National Lawyers Guild meetings, LBGT meetings, church meetings, Democratic State conventions, antiwar meetings -- we table and present anywhere we can, sometimes through the invitation of allies.

We eventually thought it would be interesting to table at places where we weren’t invited, at some of the state or national conventions of “educational influencers.” So in lieu of gaining entrance through invitations, we spent money to become exhibitors at meetings and conventions. We targeted education-related, in-state conventions to minimize travel expenses, and we found conventions with exhibitors by web searches or by asking teachers and counselors what meetings they thought were worthwhile.

Still, we sometimes couldn’t get a table at a convention because someone on a committee thought we were too anti-military. More often, the calm and formidable Marion Ward (shown in picture) would work to persuade the booking committees that we would add to the convention by offering help in navigating the legal commitments for the No Child Left Behind Act. Marion was so effective that she sometimes got a discount better than the non-profit rate offered.

And it was a good thing she did. Donations were more frequent during the overt Iraq war, and conventions are expensive -- the price for a table at a state convention runs around $1000, with more for a corner location. Typically, that money buys a 6-foot table, two chairs, and a backdrop behind you.

: Edward Hasbrouck; Articles Archive; 01 March 2016; Hits: 1358

Will women be drafted? Will women be required to register for the draft?

From Draft NOtices, January - March 2016

— Edward Hasbrouck

When the Supreme Court upheld males-only draft registration in 1981, it based its decision on "deference" to the decisions of the Department of Defense and the Commander-In-Chief, at that time, not to assign women to any combat position. The facts underlying that Supreme Court decision have now changed with the announcement on December 4, 2015, that women in the military will be considered for all combat jobs.

Several lawsuits again challenging males-only draft registration had been filed when the Pentagon announced that it would begin considering women for some combat positions in 2013. It's unclear which of these lawsuits, or which new one, will be the first one to be decided. But it's now highly likely that males-only draft registration will be found unconstitutional. Such a court ruling would force Congress to choose whether to extend draft registration to women, or to let a court decision ending registration stand.

Under current law, the courts can't order women to register. Nor can the President or the Pentagon, without action by Congress to change the law. So unless Congress extends the registration requirement to women, registration of men will have to end if courts find that it is illegally discriminatory. On the other hand, the current males-only draft registration could be ended by Presidential proclamation, by Congress, or by the Federal courts if they find that it is unconstitutional.