Witnessing the Meltdown

A letter to the editor @ the AAS re: this column (registration required).

October 7, 2004

To the Editors,

Kathleen Parker (AAS, 10/6/04) is correct that staffing the military using draftees is not desired by the military. However her derision of draft 'rumors' apparently impeded her research into why reasonable people might consider them credible.

According to The Century Foundation's "Legions Stretched Thin: The U.S. Army's Manpower Crisis" [1], the US currently has three times as many military personnel stationed overseas than in February 1991 while total size is less than 75% compared to that time period.

Regarding Congressman Rangel's bill, he was quoted Wednesday [2] as saying that "The Republican leadership decision to place the draft legislation on the Suspension Calendar is a political maneuver to kill rumors of the President's intention to reinstate the draft after the November election."

I urge your readers to read the Century Foundation report and decide for themselves if a draft is in our future.

Regards,

Brendan
[1] Legions Stretched Thin: The U.S. Army's Manpower Crisis;
Jeremy Barnicle,
Leif Wellington Haase
The Century Foundation, 9/27/04
http://www.tcf.org/4L/4LMain.asp?SubjectID=1&ArticleID=490

[2] http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/week_2004_10_03.php#003573




	Witnessing the Meltdown Home Get Email Updates What I Do for a Living Email Me Admin Password Remember Me 13523 Curiosities served Share on Facebook				2004-10-07 9:31 AM LTTE re: Draft "Rumors" Previous Entry :: Next Entry Read/Post Comments (0) A letter to the editor @ the AAS re: this column (registration required). October 7, 2004 To the Editors, Kathleen Parker (AAS, 10/6/04) is correct that staffing the military using draftees is not desired by the military. However her derision of draft 'rumors' apparently impeded her research into why reasonable people might consider them credible. According to The Century Foundation's "Legions Stretched Thin: The U.S. Army's Manpower Crisis" [1], the US currently has three times as many military personnel stationed overseas than in February 1991 while total size is less than 75% compared to that time period. Regarding Congressman Rangel's bill, he was quoted Wednesday [2] as saying that "The Republican leadership decision to place the draft legislation on the Suspension Calendar is a political maneuver to kill rumors of the President's intention to reinstate the draft after the November election." I urge your readers to read the Century Foundation report and decide for themselves if a draft is in our future. Regards, Brendan [1] Legions Stretched Thin: The U.S. Army's Manpower Crisis; Jeremy Barnicle, Leif Wellington Haase The Century Foundation, 9/27/04 http://www.tcf.org/4L/4LMain.asp?SubjectID=1&ArticleID=490 [2] http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/week_2004_10_03.php#003573 Read/Post Comments (0) Previous Entry :: Next Entry Back to Top