Why aren’t more Bush supporters lining up to volunteer? Isn’t the 2nd Iraqi War worth fighting? It seems not enough people feel strongly enough about it to volunteer to go into harm’s way, so he has to force soldiers to return.
President Bush has authorized the U.S. Marine Corps to recall 2,500 troops to active duty because there are not enough volunteers returning for duty in Afghanistan and Iraq, Marine commanders announced Tuesday.
The recall was authorized last month, and will begin in spring 2007 to fill positions for upcoming rotations, Marine officials said. The Marine Corps is currently picking volunteers from the Marine Individual Ready Reserve, the officials said.
Soon nobody will volunteer because they know they’ll be serving a majority of the 8-year committment on active duty under fire. Maybe soon we’ll see press gangs trolling the bars for “volunteers”.
Regardless of Iraq, recruits are well informed of the recall clause in their enlistment. Inactive reserves has been part of enlistment since at least WWII. Many very unhappy veterans were recalled to active service in Korea. My father-in-law was one of them.
Oooo…I smell a draft in the wind.
There already is a draft!
A lot of “career” service personnel are leaving the military after 11 and 12 years. It’s not just having to serve in a war zone. It’s having to serve repeatedly or for long stretches in an unusally stressful and crazy war zone. And how this traumatic experience is affecting their families once they get back home.
No draft until after the next presidential election. Of course, if the neo-con war lovers are still in power — they’ll scoop up all the non-voting cannon fodder on the street corners.
3. …in an unusally stressful and crazy war zone…
Now, if ya could sign on for a tour in an unusually calming and enjoyable war zone…
By “draft” I mean sending out draft cards to people who’ve never been in the military nor signed up for military service and basically forcing them to go into the military. So no, there’s no “draft” now….but there will be!
Max — you mean the kind Bush signed on for — almost in VietNam.
#2. Nobody wants a conscript military especially the military leadership.
#7 You really don’t want to start a list of USAian leadership that signed up for the National Guard instead of getting drafted.
It’s like clockwork. Every few days Smartalix tries to beat this drum.
What a surprise.
Gig,
Why don’t we want to start a list of leaders who did Guard instead? I think it would be an interesting list. I, for one, volunteered for the Army Reserve.
The Pentagon has been very clear that they do not want a draft. I just don’t see it happening.
#9,
Does your comment mean that this deployment is a good thing, or are you just venting?
To stick your fingers in your ears and go “nanana” while facts continue to pile up that this war is going poorly is being willfully ignorant. To simply stand by and let these things happen only enables more of the same.
To say, “my country, right or wrong” is like saying “my mother, drunk or sober”. To decry behavior and situations does not mean you do not love who is involved in it. I thought we are supposed to hate the sin and love the sinner?
To let this county continue on this path is the true anti-Americanism. This war is just VIetnam all over again, from search-and-destroy missions to obliterating villages to “save” them.
#9 thank god im not the only one that feels that way. Smartalix to call anyone who supports the war ignorant is ignroance on your part. Some of us understands the hardships of war but feel the cost the US is paying will eventually pay off with a better life for Iraqies, a safer more stable region, and a safer world in general. Before you get up on your horse about why dont I server etc both my parents are career Navy and I work for a major DoD contractor so in a way I am doing my part. As for this article it is commonly known that the recall is part of being in the military and they can recall you to active duty even after you retire. While a surprise to you it is not to them. If your going to be mad at someone at least make it legitimate and be mad at Rumsfeld for running the reserve units into the ground. The reserves were ment for national defense not prolonged offensive operations.
Runsfeld is Bush’s Secretary of defense. Nobody elected him, he serves at the will of the President. If you think Runsfeld is running this war badly, I agree with you, but Bush is the man keeping him in charge.
I did not call people who support the war ignorant. I said to ignore facts about how badly the war is going is to be willfully ignorant. There are none so blind that will not see.
I know that recalls can and do happen. In this case the recalls point to problems in recruiting. Do you disagree with that observation?
Heh, this is making me think more and more of one of my favourite quotes…
“Patriotism is the last resort of the scoundrel.” – Samuel Johnson
I don’t know why, but most times I hear comment about doing a “patriotic duty” it is for something the speaker is trying to apparently guilt someone into doing. (Yes there are a few exceptions, but many more instances when this is true, this war being one in my opinion)
Eideard:
`Zactly. I’m no apologist for this mess; WWII was the last un-retarded war, so far as I’m concerned.
I’ve also long favored reinstating the draft in order to get this chickenshit war over and done with — and yes, I’d volunteer in the event of, if anyone is curious. The other alternative is to cut our losses and bug out ASAP — but the present course is simply going to make the outcome incrementally worse.
#13,
HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!! Let’s see, the Iraqi’s asked the Americans to leave, so what do the Americans do? Bomb weddings, rape 14 year olds and kill the witnesses (her family). Hearts and minds… Yeah, and your patriotic duty of working for a DOD contractor! Nice! That’s like working for a Bank that loans money to the government during times of war is patriotic. Does your DoD contract volunteer your service freely? Or are you just another profiteer like so many in the past… As Monty Burns said “Schindler and I have a lot in common… we’re both factory owners, we both made shells for the NAZI’s, but mine worked, dammit!”
> but feel the cost the US is paying will eventually pay off
> with a better life for Iraqies, a safer more stable region,
> and a safer world in general.
That is BS. Since Bush is president, the world has gotten thousands of muslim youth feeling so desperate all they want is to blow themselves up and kill as many pro-americans as possible.
The only reason Bush is in Iraq is for the oil and for the billions he can put into BS war hardware (like the anti-ballistic missile defense) and the hundreds of billions he can give to coorporation and as tax cuts to the richest 0.01% of the population. The value of money has decreased since Bush is president, making western democracy ineffective and basically fking up the planet with more pollution and hate.
13 As for this article it is commonly known that the recall is part of being in the military and they can recall you to active duty even after you retire.
Yep, and the word is obviously getting out: never volunteer, and “they” can never send you back into hell on earth.
“They” currently being Bush & Co, but everyone with a brain knows this will still be going on long after he has left office.
The idea that a draft is “political suicide” just shows how pathetic our War on Terror is… most of us can’t be bothered to do more than stick some yellow magnets on our cars, and then let them fade to white…
OBTW: I got my 30-year certificate from the Navy in June – moving me onto the “retired” list, from the “inactive reserve” list. I’ve been lucky they haven’t needed any Reactor Operators for nuclear submarines in Iraq.
We can debate the how we got in and how to get out points forever and not reach a consensus, because we just aren’t motivated by enough similar interests to agree. In the meantime, since a lot of people with strong similar interests are dying, while this is being discussed, how about we step up recruitment IN IRAQ. If we actually went there to spread democracy, a good place further that notion would be in supporting making Iraq functional in providing security for her own people. Why are we looking in high schools in Yazoo, MS and on Marine Corp. Reserve lists, when the people that must ultimately build this democracy, are the ones in Iraq. If we can’t count on building a coalition of Iraqi citizens to provide their own security, nothing else we try will succeed.
Smartalix, I appoligize i missunderstood your point and do agree with the Rumsfeld-Bush relationship and that when it comes to controling Rumsfeld the buck per say does stop at Bush. I guess well have to disagree on how badly the war is going. Where you see Civil war and pointless deaths of US troops I see a desperate attempt to cause Civil war by a small (less the 10%) portion of the Iraqi population who want to go back to life under a dictator like Sadam and see this as a last ditch effort to unseat the progress that has been made. I feel to pull out now in any fasion empowers Iran, will cause us to loose any positive push towards democracy an civil freedoms gained in Iraq, and will add to the feeling of superiority that Arab nations already seem to feel over the US. What Americans see as a sign of good intentions or a job completed Arabs see as weakness. This is perfectly represented by Beirut in the 1980s when they attacked the Marines and then we withdrew. What we saw as protecting out troops and moving them out of a destablized area they saw as a US defeat and weakness and to some extent we have been paying for that ever since with the increase of terrorisim on a global scale.
I find it hard to believe that a kid that joins the army at 18 and gets out 4 years later is still beholden to them 20 years later. I mean, what if he’s running a company then that people depend on…to damn bad?
#17 Its obvious you are so off base that i am not even going to debate the topic with you. Calling our soldiers murders shows you are antiamerican, antibush, and antithinking. Blame the politics behind the war all you want but to call people doing their job murders is inappropriate. They have families also and its people like you protesting in front of military bases and posting false information that Americans are baby killers that cause the families and espicailly the young children of those serving over sees to suffer. Do you think they enjoy having loved ones deployed and put into harms way. You must be a card carrying member of the blame America first crowd. Also where do you get your information on the war al jazeera perhaps? BTW the DoD contractor i work for is a non-profit I dont want to say anymore but I guess you could say that they do essentially give away my services at cost and i wasnt implying that it makes me special in any way but that I am a little more involved with the military and war then the average american.
#19: Congrats and thanks for your past service some of us will never forget or be able to repay your sacrifice. My father also was a nuke submariner and retired at 26 years several years ago.
Chris, you should dial down the gung-ho and dial up the critical thinking. Being a patriot doesn’t mean you have to approve of the government or its actions.
The term “cannon fodder” is no longer applicable in the 21st century. We now use the term “Improvised Explosive Device” IED fodder to describe our troops giving an arm and a leg to the cause of Iraqi Freedom.
#9It’s like clockwork. Every few days Smartalix tries to beat this drum.
What a surprise.
Comment by malren — 8/23/2006 @ 5:12 am
It’s got a good beat and I can dance to it.
Who knew Dvorak was a Moonbat?
Sure are a lot of Bush haters here. I wanted to come here because of the tech info that John D dispenses. I can’t hack all the beating up on our president so I’m pulling the plug and going back to lurking at LGF.
Goodbye Dvorak.org slash blog
Charlie M, Don’t tell me you want to “cut and run” . Don’t you want to ” stay the course”. LOL!
Yeah. Just read the tech posts then.