by James Glaser
November 6, 2003

Yesterday George Bush said, "We won't run." Of course George was talking about Iraq and he wasn't saying he wouldn't run, he was saying the troops he sent there wouldn't run. George did run, when he became a deserter while in the National Guard. Lucky his dad was a Congressman, then head of the CIA, then Vice-president, and finally President. It helps to have a dad like that stopping anyone from charging you with any crime.

Even before we sent troops to Iraq, many retired Generals questioned the number of troops we planned to send. These Generals wanted more troops to occupy the country after the battle phase was over. If we wanted the number of our troops in our occupation to come close to what was needed in other successful operations like Britain in Ireland or NATO in Kosovo, we would need about 240,000 of them. We now have 130,000 of our troops and 14,000 from 27 other countries.

We don't have enough troops to raise the their strength up to a historically successful level for an occupation. Washington was planning on other countries sending way more troops. Few countries want to do that and now that Turkey has backed out from sending troops because the Iraqis said "no way" and Spain and Australia have started pulling their troops out, America has to do something.

When we fought in the first Iraqi War back in 1991, we had a full 10 Army Divisions back in the States ready to deploy to Iraq. Today we only have 1 division that could be deployed. That is the major reason that George Bush, Donald Rumsfeld, and their Generals in the field keep saying we have enough troops. They better be enough, because that is all we have. We were not prepared for what has been going on in Iraq since George Bush said the major fighting was over.

Because we have used so many Reserve and National Guard units already, we are stretched thin and it looks like the Pentagon is looking to return our nation to a DRAFT in order to get the troops they need.

The Draft was abolished in 1973 and the All Volunteer Army has been pointed to with pride ever since, but there is now a national request by the Department of Defense to get 2000 people to man local Draft Boards,

Ned Lebow, former Professor of Strategy at The National War College in Washington says, "This is significant, what the Department of Defense is doing is creating the infrastructure to make the Draft a viable option."

The following is the Request by the Department of Defense, seeking citizens to work on their Local Selective Service Boards.

Serve Your Community and the Nation
Become a Selective Service System Local Board Member

The Selective Service System wants to hear from men and women in the community who might be willing to serve as members of a local draft board.

Prospective Board Members must be citizens of the United States , at least 18 years old, and registered with the Selective Service (if male). Prospective Board Members may not be an employee of any law enforcement occupation, not be an active or retired member of the Armed Forces, and not have been convicted of any criminal offense.

Once identified as qualified candidates for appointment, prospective Board Members are recommended by the Governor and appointed by the Director of Selective Service, who acts on behalf of the President in making appointments. Each new member receives 12 hours of initial training after appointment, followed by 4 hours of annual training for as long as he or she remains in the position. They may serve as Board Members for up to 20 years, if desired.

Local Board Members are uncompensated volunteers who play an important community role closely connected with our Nation's defense. If a military draft becomes necessary, approximately 2,000 Local and Appeal Boards throughout America would decide which young men, who submit a claim, receive deferments, postponements or exemptions from military service, based on Federal guidelines.

Positions are available in many communities across the Nation. If you believe you meet the standards for Selective Service Board Membership, and wish to be considered for appointment please visit our web site at: http://www.sss.gov/fslocal.htm

http://www.defendamerica.mil/articles/sss092203.html