Experts see military draft as inevitable

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http://www.delawareonline.com/newsjournal/local/2005/02/17expertsseemilit.html

 

 

Experts see military draft as inevitable

Anti-war activists fear revival of selective service

By MIKE BILLINGTON / The News Journal

02/17/2005

 

There may come a day when Uncle Sam wants Wayne Flenniken for the U.S.

Army.

 

In many ways, he's an ideal candidate for military service. At 15, he

already has finished high school and is enrolled at Delaware Technical

& Community College studying Spanish and English. There is a problem,

however. Wayne doesn't want any part of Uncle Sam's Army - or anyone

else's, for that matter.

 

" I don't believe in war and I don't like the military in any way,

shape or form, " he said. " I don't think anyone should be forced to die

prematurely. "

 

That's why he went to a draft resistance training session Friday in

his hometown of Newark. It's why Wayne has begun building his case as

a conscientious objector.

 

The United States no longer has a military draft and hasn't since

1973, when it converted to an all-volunteer military.

 

But some anti-war activists say it's only a matter of time before the

Bush administration and the Republican-controlled Congress bring it

back. Meanwhile, conservatives and moderates outside the

administration have taken a hard look at America's military

commitments and are urging Congress to beef up the Army and Marines.

 

Many elected officials say there is no way the draft will be brought

back any time soon.

 

" Our current all-volunteer force is highly effective, well-trained,

well-disciplined and capable of handling our global and national

security commitments, " said Rep. Mike Castle, R-Del. " [Defense]

Secretary [Donald] Rumsfeld and the Joint Chiefs of Staff have

continuously stated their opposition to reviving the draft and the

House of Representatives overwhelmingly rejected such a proposal last

year. I personally oppose it. "

 

Others aren't so certain.

 

" I don't see the need for a draft, but we need to prepare now in order

to avoid having one forced on us in the future, " said Sen. Tom Carper,

D-Del. " We can reduce the stress we are placing on our armed forces by

increasing the number of ground troops in the Army and Marine Corps

and bringing the size of our military in line with our expanded

responsibilities in a post-9/11 world, " he said.

 

Looking for help

 

A few believe, however, that the White House should get other nations

to share the burden in Iraq.

 

" We have 12 [combat] divisions and 10 are locked down in Iraq, either

coming or going, " said Sen. Joseph Biden, D-Del. " Our ability to have

any flexibility with ground forces anywhere else is diminished. If we

had to move into Iran, Syria, North Korea or anywhere else, we'd be in

real difficulty. "

 

In addition, he said, " we have absolutely spent, exhausted, and in

some instances misled the National Guard and the reserves. I've been

in Baghdad and Fallujah and I've spoken with them. When they enlisted

in the Guard, they never anticipated being sent for two tours of duty

in Iraq lasting a year or 18 months. We can't keep asking citizen

soldiers to do that. "

 

In a highly critical memo on the use of Reservists, Lt. Gen. James

Helmly said virtually the same thing late last year. Helmly, chief of

the Army Reserve, said that " overuse " in Iraq and Afghanistan could

result in a " broken force. "

 

Biden co-sponsored legislation with Republican Sen. John McCain and

others that allows the Army to increase its active duty strength by

30,000 troops. The Defense Department said earlier this month that it

expects to meet that goal by 2007.

 

Anti-war activists agree with Biden and Helmly that the military needs

additional troops.

 

" We already have our troops stretched to the limit, " said J.E. McNeil,

executive director of the Center on Conscience & War. The Guard and

Reserve cannot continue to provide about 40 percent of the nation's

combat troops, Biden said.

 

As a result, McNeil and other anti-war activists such as Sally

Milbury-Steen, executive director of the Wilmington-based peace

organization Pacem in Terris, said they think a draft is on the horizon.

 

" I think there's a very good chance of a military draft in the next

two years. We have soldiers in Afghanistan and Iraq and now they're

heating up the rhetoric on Iran. Where else will the soldiers come

from? " Milbury-Steen asked.

 

Peace activists aren't the only ones thinking seriously about

compulsory military service. In a well-publicized letter sent to

congressional leaders in late January, conservatives and moderates

said flatly that " the United States military is too small for the

responsibilities we are asking it to assume. "

 

In that letter, retired military leaders such as Gen. Barry R.

McCaffrey joined with defense analysts such as Michele Flournoy and

political commentators such as William Kristol in asking Congress " to

take the steps necessary to increase substantially the size of the

active duty Army and Marine Corps. ... it is our judgment that we

should aim for an increase in the active-duty Army and Marine Corps,

together, of at least 25,000 troops each year over the next several

years. "

 

They do not call for a draft but anti-war activists say they see no

other certain way to boost military strength.

 

" The most probable way they will start is to do a selected draft of

medical people, those with specialized computer skills, and those with

Arabic language skills and let it spread further, " Milbury-Steen said.

 

'Everything is in place'

 

If a new draft law is enacted, the government could start sending new

recruits to military training very quickly. The reason: Former

President Jimmy Carter put the framework of the current Selective

Service system in place in 1980. Although Carter never activated it,

as part of the framework, young men must register with the government

when they turn 18.

 

That means, Milbury-Steen said, that new recruits could be sent to

boot camp within two weeks of the draft law's passage.

 

" Everything is in place, ready to go, " she said.

 

Charles Pena, director of Defense Policy Studies at the Cato

Institute, a conservative Washington-based think tank, does not see a

military draft in the future. Instead, he said, the federal government

is more likely to require compulsory national service.

 

" We won't have a draft like we had in the Vietnam era, " Pena said.

" There are two important stumbling blocks to bringing that back.

First, what do you do about women? They weren't drafted before but are

now an important part of the military. Second, what happens if someone

who is drafted says that he or she is a homosexual? "

 

Discussion reflects support

 

There is no groundswell for national service legislation now, Pena

said, but it is being discussed by lawmakers and at policy seminars

throughout the nation's capital.

 

" It's lurking right below the surface. There are enough people willing

to get behind it on Capitol Hill that it's something that could be

done. Right now no one's pushing for it, but just as importantly, no

one's pushing against it, " he said.

 

Under national compulsory service, no one would be exempt, he said.

People could join the military or perform some other form of community

service, Pena said.

 

Newark resident Jane Curschmann isn't sure there will be a draft. She

went to last week's anti-draft training because she has a 13-year-old

son and wanted to be better informed about his rights. Judy Butler

also attended the session. She doesn't know if there will be a draft

but is suspicious of the Bush administration's forceful denials that

there are plans to reinstitute one.

 

" I have a problem with credibility with this particular

administration, " she said.

 

Wayne Flenniken's father, Eric, a former Army Reservist, went to the

draft resistance training with his son because, while he doesn't have

a problem defending the country from enemies, he has a problem sending

his son to fight in Iraq.

 

" I used to be gung-ho when I was younger but this war in Iraq, it all

boils down to oil and oil interests. You want to send my son to Iraq

to defend Enron? No, " he said, " I don't think so. "

 

Contact Mike Billington at 324-2761 or mbillington.

 

 

 

 

Special to The News Journal/SUCHAT PEDERSON

A recruiting sign is displayed in the window of the Armed Forces

Recruiting Center in Newark.

 

 

The News Journal/GINGER WALL

Wayne Flenniken (right) opposes selective service.

 

 

 

 

© 2005 delawareonline.com/The News Journal