INDEPTH: US ELECTION 2004
Dodging draft rumours
CBC News Online | Oct. 12, 2004
It's been known by several terms: conscription, mandatory military service, the National Service and – in the United States – the draft.
In the late 1960s and early 1970s, images of young Americans burning draft cards to protest against the war in Vietnam were common in newspapers and on television screens. So, too, were tales of thousands of young men who left home and family behind and headed to Canada, where they could not be forced to serve in the military and shipped off to fight a war they didn't support.
Many objected on religious grounds – like world champion boxer Muhammad Ali, who went to prison rather than report for active duty. Many more argued that the draft was unfair: children of the privileged were seen as using family connections to avoid induction into the army by securing positions in the National Guard – positions that meant low-risk duty in the United States.
Full-time college and university students could defer their military service. This gave wealthy and upper-middle-class families an opportunity to keep their sons out of the army as long as they remained in school.
In 1971, changes were made to the rules governing the draft. Now a college student can defer military service only to the end of the current semester. A college senior can defer to the end of the academic year.
And local draft boards must now be more representative of their communities in areas such as race and national origin.
The draft is used to fill vacancies in the armed forces that can't be filled by volunteers. Currently, there is no draft in the United States. There hasn't been one since 1973.
But the organization that manages the draft – the Selective Service System – remains in operation. It's doing what it has been doing since 1980: registering men between the ages of 18 and 25, and standing by for the order to resume the draft.
While the president acts as the commander-in-chief of the American armed forces, he cannot order a resumption of the draft. Only Congress can do that – after the House of Representatives and the Senate both approve legislation allowing the draft to resume.
President George W. Bush (AP Photo)
|
|
Both President George W. Bush and Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry have said they oppose reinstating the draft. On Oct. 5, 2004, the U.S. House of Representatives voted 402-2 against a bill that would have paved the way for restoring it.
Still, rumours abound that Bush will bring it back. They're spreading rapidly on the internet. It's an issue the Democrats have pounced on.
The military has a very strong presence in New Mexico. There's the famous nuclear weapons laboratory at Los Alamos, three air force bases, an army missile test range and a high concentration of veterans. Senior Democrats won't come out and accuse Bush of plotting to reinstate the draft, but some – like the party's chairman in New Mexico, John Wortheim, have suggested it's possible.
"Career military people are not being allowed to exit the military so that back-door draft
already exists," Wortheim told CBC News. "It's just a factual truth and so we're not spreading any rumours."
It's a possibility that students are paying attention to. A recent Democratic rally at the University of New Mexico attracted a thousand students – and Hollywood actor John Cusack.
"If Bush is going to go off and start attacking any state that he considers rogue based on his suspicion, and all we have to do is believe him and our belief in his belief is the only
proof we need, how are we going to do that with the troops we have now? I mean, it's a terrifying thought."
Campus Republicans are tiring of the draft rumours. Eighteen-year-old Michael Barker accuses the Democrats of fear-mongering.
Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry (AP Photo)
|
|
"Kerry is the major person who's playing a part in saying that the draft is going to
come back if Bush stays in office," Barker said. "John Kerry…knows that no one wants the draft [to] come back, so he's using a fear tactic. He says Bush is using a fear tactic. No way."
A poll released in early October suggests the Democrats may have a good reason to continue focusing on the issue. The National Annenberg Election Survey found that 51 per cent of young adults – those between the ages of 18 and 29 – believe Bush wants to reinstate the draft. Only a quarter of those surveyed believed that neither candidate favours the idea.
The Democrats' focus on the issue suggests the rumours have done something that politicians have been unable to do for years: catch the attention of young American voters.
^TOP
|
|
 |
 MENU |
|
|
| QUICK FACTS: |
Countries that have mandatory military service:
Austria, Bulgaria, China, Croatia, Eritrea, Finland, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Israel, Lebanon, Malaysia, Norway, Poland, Russia, Singapore, South Korea, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan and Turkey.
|
|
| RELATED: |
|
|
| QUICK FACTS: |
Voting age population (VAP) in 2000:
205,815,000
Eligible voters (VEP) in 2000:
193,199,543
Voter turnout (% of VEP) in 2000:
54.5%
Numbers of seats up for election (2004):
House: 435 (all of them)
Senate: 34 (of 100)
|
|
| EXTERNAL LINKS: |
|
|
| MORE: |
|
|
|
CBC does not endorse and is not responsible for the content of external sites. Links will open in new window.
