|
WASHINGTON - Congressman Charles Rangel said today that keeping U.S. troops in Iraq beyond President Bush's term in office underscores the need to reinstate the military draft.
"President Bush's assertion that the decision to withdraw U.S. troops from Iraq would be up to the next President is the best evidence yet of the need to reinstate the military draft," Congressman Rangel said.
"If the military was unable to meet its recruiting goals last year, it's even less likely to do so as this unpopular war drags on beyond 2008," Congressman Rangel said. "If the President insists on deploying troops in a war that the American people no longer support, it will take nothing less than a draft to fill the ranks, especially if the war spreads to Iran"
Last February, Congressman Rangel reintroduced legislation to reinstate the draft that would increase the eligible age for male and female draftees to 42. Under the legislation, no deferments would be allowed for reasons of health and conscience.
"Up to now this war has been fought only by those who are willing to enlist, mainly for economic reasons. The fact is that even large bonuses are becoming less attractive as casualties mount and as Americans see no end to a conflict that they've lost faith in," Congressman Rangel said.
In a recent poll by the Zogby organization, 72 percent of the U.S. soldiers in Iraq surveyed said all American troops should leave the country within a year and more than one in four said the troops should leave immediately, and only one in five agree with the President that our troops should remain as long as they are needed.
As of this week, more than 2,300 American troops have been killed and 18,000 wounded.
"As a veteran of the Korean War, I know that no soldier wants to be in combat, but it has become clear that American troops have lost their enthusiasm for this war in which three-quarters of the troops have served multiple tours," the Congressman said. Forty-five percent were on their second tour and 29 percent were in Iraq for a third time or more. according to the Zogby organization.
Americans have been waiting for the President to give the country some sort of time line for leaving Iraq. But instead of offering some assurances of an end to the conflict, he punted the ball to the next President," Congressman Rangel said.
"The President not only left open the potential for the draft to fill the ranks in Iraq, he has also left the military option on the table as tensions rise in our dealings with Iran over the nuclear issue," Congressman Rangel said.
"I oppose the war in Iraq and I believe that every option must be exhausted short of war in our dealings with Iran," Cong. Rangel said. "But if our servicemen and women continue to be placed in harm's way, there must be a policy of shared sacrifice in which all economic groups are represented in combat. The only way to accomplish that democratic principle is reinstatement of a fair and equitable military draft."
### |
