A draft!? Why would there be a draft?! There's not going to be a draft! There isn't! There isn't!
Army leaders are considering seeking a change in Pentagon policy that would allow for longer and more frequent call-ups of some reservists to meet the demands of conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, a senior Army official said yesterday.
Reservists are being used heavily to fill key military support jobs, particularly in specialty areas, but Army authorities are having increasing difficulty limiting the active-duty time of some normally part-time soldiers to a set maximum of two years, the official said. He described the National Guard's 15 main combat units as close to being "tapped out."
To avoid pushing reserve forces to the breaking point, the official also said, a temporary increase of 30,000 troops in active-duty ranks that was authorized last year will probably need to be made permanent, especially if U.S. troop levels in Iraq remain high. He said significant troop levels may be required in Iraq for four or five more years.Remember all the stories about a possible draft in the Spring of 2005? I first mentioned it back in April 2004. Well, well, well...
The official declined to be named because of the political sensitivity of the troop issue and the lack of decisions. But he said that the Army probably will ask Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld in the next several months to change the policy on mobilization of reservists. "It's coming," he told a small group of Pentagon reporters. "I think we're going to have this discussion this spring."The reservists aren't going to be the only issue on the agenda. In other words, hide your sons and daughters.
posted by Kevin at 7:43 AM
NS is on board! Thanks man!
posted by Kevin at 5:50 AM
Wow!
I don't post too many Cryptogon praise letters, but this one means a great deal to me. You see, I was 18 when I started down
this path. I hope DB doesn't have too much trouble maintaining appearances at school and work as a result of Cryptogon. It's definitely not easy to do if you choose to actually look at what's happening. But nobody said it was going to be easy!
DB writes:
Hey Kevin,
I've been meaning to put in a contribution for a while now and you offering your new essay to donators only made me get my ass in gear ;)
I'm an 18yo long time Cryptogon reader from UK. I must credit you and your work to getting me into most of what I understand and preach now. Cryptogon was one the first sites I read regularly after leaving the mass media. (yeah, that was quite a transition from Sky News to Cryptogon, haha). Cryptogon (and some of the other sites I read daily like GNN, WRH, Indymedia and Ran's great site) are responsible for opening my eyes to much of what I now know, so take this as repayment and a sign of my gratitude.
Thanks, and keep up the great work! (Be sure to let me know how you spend this)
DB
How will I spend the money? I'll send another $5 to the Red Cross. The local farmer's market is tomorrow. My girlfriend and I buy all our fruit and vegetables directly from organic growers. My car is out of gas... So, I'll fill it up. ;) I only fill up the car about once per month.
Oh, I bought a coffee maker today. Wow. That was a thrill. It's a big deal when I actually go shopping for something other than food. Try to find a coffee machine that's not made in China! TRY IT! I drove around to a few places.
Then Ikea. They should fly a Chinese flag outside of that thing, not a Swedish flag. EVERYTHING I looked at in there was made in China. Everything. They didn't have coffee machines, but I considered a French coffee press, but guess where that was made. *sigh* I left Ikea and went to the next place, in search of my Not Made in China coffee maker.
Finally, I wound up in some Bed Bath and Beyond thing. Pretty much the same story. Made in China. Made in China. Made in China.
I noticed that the corporations are trying a new trick. Remember when you used to see American flags on products to indicate that the stuff was made in the U.S.? Get this: I saw a coffee maker with an American flag on it. Holy sh*t! Stop the presses! I grabbed it and read the small print underneath the flag. It says:
"American Based Company."
"No..." I squinted at the box. "They wouldn't try such a feeble PSYOP swindle! Would they?"
I flipped the box over.
"Made in China." HAHAHAHAHA!
Finally, I found one that was made in Mexico. I considered it. Conditions are marginably better for workers in Mexico. Barely better. Slightly better. Then I started thinking about
Juarez. Ok. It might not be much better. So, I was standing there in the store, holding the $20 coffee maker, trying to talk myself into thinking it was ok to buy the thing.
"Well," I actually said outloud, "I don't think Mexico uses
mobile death vans."
I was laughing to myself, thinking, "This thing is coming down! All of this plastic sh*t in here is made out of oil!"
(I'd love to see the security camera footage of me going through this process in the store: flipping over all the boxes, shaking my head, then setting them down; mumbling to myself like a deranged lunatic because everything in the place is made in some dungeon or another.)
I made for the checkout area with my possibly, slightly, hopefully less evil, Made in Mexico coffee maker.
Ahhh, consumer bliss.
posted by Kevin at 5:45 AM