I wonder if support for the war would be even lower if all the public knew all the truth about how things are being run in their name. And money.
Beating the Drums of War. US Troop Build-up: Army & Marines authorize “Involuntary Conscription”
It is now being specified and openly stated that the U.S. Marines have started recalling or legally summoning thousands of ‘inactive servicemen’ to serve in Iraq and the Middle East, where the number of U.S. troops and contracted security personal are dropping towards hap-hazardous levels[…]. The U.S. Army too, undermined by shortfalls in manpower, has ordered over a reported 14,000 ‘inactive servicemen’ back to fight in what is cited as the ‘War on Terror,’ as opposed to the ‘fighting in Iraq or Afghanistan.’ Already thousands of servicemen have disserted, even applying for refugee status in Canada, and thousands more are AWAL (absent without authorized leave).
[…]
This could just be the ‘tip of the iceberg,’ but this seems to be nothing less than a watered down and concealed ‘military draft’ and it is only the continuation of a systematic conscription of military troops and former servicemen in a stealthy and cautious manner.
There are definitely, without question, hidden figures and numbers on the mercenaries—termed as security contractors for public relations reasons—being brought into Iraq from Latin America and all over the world—a by-product of the role of globalization in modern warfare—whose deaths do not get counted as American casualties and thus help marginalize the real human costs of the war for the United States and non-Iraqi denizens. The fact that there are scores of unaccounted dead—besides the phenomenally large amount of Iraqis—is verified by Robert Frisk […] that “At least 18,000 mercenaries, many of them tasked to protect U.S. troops and personnel, are now believed to be in Iraq, some of them earning $1,000 (U.S.) a day.
The point is not that they can do it or that it’s built into the system, but that the government is using this method rather than instituting a real draft.
Because this method is recalling people that volunteered.
Does this mean the war on terror is not going as planned? It is interesting that the US military needs such a big army to fight such a small group of people. The USA is not at war with a whole nation but with small groups of armed men hiding in several nations. There are over 100,000 military personal hunting down possibly 5000 to 10,000 bad guys.
The high tech military is very good at convential warfare but is it effective against guerilla warfare? Bush has said the war on terror is a new kind of war. If so, then why does it look like the US military is fighting it like a conventional war?
It’s a bureaucracy and bureaucrats are great at twisting rules to support policies long after the policies have failed. To the bureaucrat people are getting killed in senseless violence but so what. That’s how the United States ended up in Vietnam for years. By the time commonsense prevailed, a lot of guys were killed and injured. After years of war the military pulled out of Vietnam and the whole thing was viewed as a disgrace and a lost cause. The problem begins with invasion and worsens with occupation. In Vietnam the natives held out in a massive tunnel system. The enemy was often invisible and our troops were too big to crawl through the tunnels. Some of the tunnels have been widened to accomodate tourists who visit Vietnam today. They could pour troops into Iraq for the next five years and make very little progress. The goal is not progress, it’s the support of policy. The policy is based on the belief that a war can stop terrorism, as well as other dubious ideas. We are supposed to be more secure at home by sending the National Guard to Iraq. If we leave Iraq, the President claims the enemy will follow us home. Far fetched logic at work. We are going to be invaded by Iraq. Doubtful!
The bottom line is that people serving the country in the armed forces are getting a bad deal. The public support for the war and occupation of Iraq is low and getting lower. Great news for those trying to unseat a congress member, bad news for those being sent to Iraq to fight a war growing more unpopular every day. The spin is that if you aren’t for the Bush administration war policy, you are a supporter of terrorism and helping the terrorists. Most people know this is bullshit. People want a more secure country and don’t believe that the occupation of Iraq is making the United States more secure. Iraq is taking resources and those resources could be used here at home. We were actually discussing the closure of our local Air Force Reserve base in my area due to BRAC bureaucrats. Now the VA bureaucrats have exposed veterans and active duty military personel to potential new problems from the loss of data and entire computers. They are finding new ways to screw over the military all the time.
These Bush involuntary call backs and extended deployments must be devastating for future recruitment efforts.
Anyway, why enlist in the army when you can do the same thing with KBR and get paid way WAY more
Devastating at the least Greg. Fighting a long difficult war requires lots of troops and replacement troops for rotation. To do it right you almost always need a draft. This would be unpopular, so you get creative about it. I suspect they want more illegal immigration. Maybe they can draft some of the illegals coming from Mexico and send them to Iraq. You don’t need to know how to speak a the English in Iraq. You come here to pick fruit and end up in Iraq fighting it out for Uncle George.
“This could just be the ‘tip of the iceberg,’ but this seems to be nothing less than a watered down and concealed ‘military draft’ and it is only the continuation of a systematic conscription of military troops and former servicemen in a stealthy and cautious manner.”
If we want to take opinion and try to report it as fact. Consider this:
The actions of the traitorous liberal left have given moral support to our enemies and prolonged the conflict. Increasing American deaths dramatically.
If what you are doing is immoral, moral support is no good to you. If what you are doing is immoral, you don’t care about public opinion or fact. Blaming liberals for increased conflicts is really out there. The peace protesters are really getting more people killed and aiding terrorists. The hell with it all, kill everybody so you don’t need to worry about public opinion with the public safely dead. The new PR spin is that public opinion is wrong and the President is right. He was on TV the other day saying something. I turned him off. I have friends that will bullshit me without the PR middlemen confusion. They have everybody bullshitted about Iraq, except the Iraqis. All they know is that the country is a wreck and getting more wrecked by the day.
9. “The actions of the traitorous liberal left have given moral support to our enemies and prolonged the conflict. Increasing American deaths dramatically.”
Huh, if you want to call something treason, how about discharging Sadaam’s army directly into the ranks of the insurgency and leaving thousands of Iraqi weapons dumps unguarded so that the insurgents could arm themselves. How about not destroying said weapons dumps because you think they contain the “missing” WMD? How about not guarding the borders so the insurgents can draw support from neighboring countries? How about forgetting all the basic rules of counter-insurgency, which put a premium upon winning hearts and minds and the cautious use of force so as not to add to the ranks of the insurgents?
any of that treasonable enough for you? it must not be for the Bush Administration, because at least one of the guys in charge of the treason, instead of having his head stuck in a noose, had a Medal of Freedom hung around his neck.
treason doth never prosper because if it prospers, none dare call it treason.
but no, this is not a backdoor draft – these guys are getting the shaft, but they are vets, not guys pulled in off the street because their number was up. a draft for a war 2/3 of the American people now oppose would be a political disaster. Congress has no desire to follow Bush into retirement.
Maybe they can set up Sunday mornng recruiting drives at all the churches. The new mega churches which use multimedia effectively can show videos featuring Uncle George commander and chiefing it up. Your duty as God fearing Americans is to go to Iraq and kill as many people as possible for the good of God, country and conservative values. It’s a battle for the hearts and souls of Iraq. Our church was always drafty and half to three quarters empty. It was always a good place to find volunteers. Join the Army for Jesus! Maybe they could build little war rooms with brochures and such.
No 2. Dave engage brain before opening mouth. I’m sure your teachers taught you to do your research, unfotunately, your forgot on this one. Even after I retired from the service at age 45 I was still eligible for activation in case of mobilization until age 60 and had orders to that effect.
The people who serve their country are aware of these and other provisions of their service. It’s too bad laziness and incomplete research is clogging the web and other media with inaccuracy in attempts to alarm the genaral public.
Personally I would like to see a draft. I would give the elitist class an oppurtunity to experience service, duty and loyalty.
Doug, Presidents never retire. They are always Presidents. It’s like the political version of the mafia. That’s why we had to put up with Nixon for years and now have Nixon hacks running things today. Once you become a President, not even resignation or impeachment matters. No matter how stupid your actions are, you are President. You get a library, a security detail, free meals and liquor for life, a hundred grand for a speech, millions for writing books no matter how bad they are and can screw about any broad you want any time any place in the world. That’s why people want to be President. It’s like being king, only you don’t have to put up with lowly subjects. It’s a jumping jack flash.
Everyone who joins the US Military Signs up for 8 years. It has been that way since at least 1988 when I joined the Navy. I am not sure when it started. The contract also allows for a Stop Loss. Once you retire from the Military you can be recalled also. This not a backdoor anything it is part of the contract they signed and yes it was explained to me when I joined. It is explained when I person leaves the miltary before the eight years are up. So as much as it suck its what they agreed to when they joined.
Nice try, but your attempt to stretch logic to tie the IRR to a draft just doesn’t work.
To all who say that the soldiers volunteered for it, you are correct to the letter of the agreement, but not the spirit. All service personnel are subject to recall, but the way it is presented to the recruit is that such a situation is a last-ditch measure.
However, you are all correct that soldiers signed up knowing this liability. So now that potential recruits know this and are now avoiding service, what are we to do when we run out of soldiers with service obligations?
Rick is right. This is why a lot of people don’t want to join the service. You used to do your hitch and that was it. Besides, Rumsfeld has said they are going to need less people with the new high tech military of the future. Victory would be ensured through new technology, which sounds good. Maybe they can finish off the enemy in Iraq with computers and remote control weapons. Make it a video game and the President can sit around with an X-box picking off terrorists from the couch. With remote controls we could all get in on the fighting. I think I’ll blow that store up, there are terrorists inside, 100,000 points. Bill Gates could be general of the world, commanding Force MSX. Just kill everybody, the planet is too crowded. Overhead buzzes a fleet of drones programmed by defense contractors to kill. We got the terrorists, we got everybody. Game over.
Has anyone heard of Selective Service? I guess even the draft isn’t technically a draft to the apologists. I’m guessing folks not in the draft age have no problem with the draft anyway – what else is new.
Like the Marines say, once a Marine always a Marine. All this contract back and forth talk means nothing.
How is against the spirit? It was presented as the needs of the military determine if they recall you. For many years it was not an issue becasue we were not at war, but now were are so some people are recalled. The signed the contract and for many being in the IRR was never an issue, because their enlistment fell during a period that the IRR was not needed. If they did not want to be obligated to eight years they should not have signed up.
Myspace can be used for profiling young people. They want to tell you everything. A great tool for contacting and interacting with recruits! Befriend, manipulate and use carrot & stick. It’s free, so fill out a complete profile. Tell us all about you! I want to be on your friend list, cool!
14. Jim – given Dumbya’s well-known aversion to actual work, as well as his profound intellectual limitations, I just can’t see him playing senior statesman like Tricky Dick or Clinton. Sure, he will suckle at the government teat for life, like many good conservatives, but I cannot see him out in the public space too much. Maybe there are some more businesses in TX that need to be run into the ground.
Perhaps when the Islamic Republic of Iraq is proclaimed in 2013 or thereabouts, we will get a public statement out of him, blaming everyone else.
#21,
Okay, you’re right.
Now that prospective recruits are avoiding enlistment because they are now very aware of this requirement, what do we do when we run out of soldiers to recall?
Has anyone heard of Selective Service? I guess even the draft isn’t technically a draft to the apologists. I’m guessing folks not in the draft age have no problem with the draft anyway – what else is new.
Wrong, the Selective Service is required. The people being recalled were actually enlisted in the armed forces. When you sign up, you are told several times that you are eligable for recall even after you are “out”. This is nothing like the draft. The actual draft would be a ‘draft’ as you say because noone volunteers for Selective Service….it is required. Or at least it was way back when I turned 18.
the people who wrote this article need to learn their history – Wilson did not want to go to war with Germany. people who did (like ex-prez Theodore Roosevelt) thought Wilson was being a total wuss in not responding to the German submarine attacks upon US shipping. Basically, the Germans forced Wilson into war by declaring unrestricted submarine warfare in 1917 against all neutral ships headed for the Allied countries.
Don’t underestimate the dumb Doug. Mrs. W is a librarian, so if W wants to look smart, he has her write a book and puts his name on the cover. They force libraries all over the place to buy it. W makes millions on his book “My Iraq”. He could have Rove write it, if the mrs. says screw your book W. W’s library and archives could bring more millions of green. It will be in Texas, so he just installs mechanical bulls and it’s like Gilleys in the flick Urban Cowboy. W. Beer could also get him richer like Billy Carter. Wait W is just like Billy Carter. Maybe he’ll be the anti-Jimmy Carter Prez and start a company building mobile home white houses for the rich and stupid. Any color you want just so it’s white. W, the Henry Ford of housing. W, for welcome to Bushvilles, the new Hoovervilles.
#13 and everyone else who seems not to get what this article is about: Of course they can be recalled. The ability to do so, what they agreed to and all that is not the point. It is totally irrelevant.
The point is that given the way things have gone, we need an increase in the numbers of troops to effectively fight in Iraq and Afghanistan if we are going to continue to fight a war differently than the enemy wants to wage it. For an assortment of reasons, we not only don’t have increasing numbers of people volunteering, we have people deserting, not wanting to reup and, of course, can’t forget the ever increasing numbers who can’t reup because they are dead or injured. To adequately fill the ranks, we should have a draft (not commenting on rightness or wrongness of the war, etc). But that is political suicide to propose, much less implement, given the political climate. So, what is the Pentagon and White House to do? Of course! Make use of the ability to recall all those who’ve returned, institute stop loss and whatever else to keep the soldiers they have/had stay where they are.
The question all of you should be debating (IMHO) is should this method be used? If we are to be honest about the mess we allowed Bush to get us in, should we not step up and start up the draft? Let the troops who are exhausted come home and send fresh ones? Actually fight the war as we knew what we were doing? Again, this is not about whether the war is right or wrong, but about how it’s being handled.
W Corp. Life after Washington. You are always President, so let’s make some damn cash.
Things W could do: Post Washington
Go High tech with Woogle. Search for WMD’s with a W website.
Woogle makes billions and W becomes the Andrew Carnegie of the future and builds libraries all over his new Wraq in old Presidential palaces. Large photos of W replace large photos of Saddam.
W gets honorary degree and becomes Dr. W. He starts a hospital and hires other doctors with honorary degrees in Wraq, with provisional U.S. funding. People die at the W hospitals, but W opens a funeral home chain and flower shops across Wraq. W Land Co. starts selling grave plots in the sandy regions outside of Baghdad. Death makes W billions of dollars.
W moves into New Orleans to prove the levees are safe. He did his job. All the levees break and W starts a houseboat business with Haliburton and his pal Dick. Everybody gets richer, lifes a beach.
W starts an airline and tricks the airports into having his investors run them. Dubai & W-orld Airports begins operations. W hires terrorists for managers and they make him richer before flying all the company jets into office buildings and military installations worldwide. W says he’s sorry for any problems he has caused. They all were from good families, according to W’s PR firm.
1 Nothing to see here, move along.
3 Because this method is recalling people that volunteered.
15 So as much as it suck its what they agreed to when they joined.
Yes,
All those Americans who joined the military in the patriotic rush to serve their country 5-years ago are finding-out exactly how long 8-years can be – and how much the world can change in 5-years.
Doesn’t matter if they might have changed in 5-years, along with the world… a contract is a contract.
And military-age people considering volunteering now hear us tell the ones who already have: “Life’s a bitch. You volunteered. Suck it up!”
31,
YES, Life is a bitch, and they did agree to enlist. Its sucks! I agree! They knew! They gambled that they would not be recalled and for many years most people were not. If this keeps people out of the military so be it. Maybe it will make the Pentagon change the policy so that you enlist only for the number of years on your active contract or if you specifically agree to reserve time, but as it stand now they agree to do this when they enlisted. I agree it sucks, war sucks and this one was most likely a mistake barring some miracle in Iraq, but that does not change the fact the enlisted.