Found this letter when wandering around on the web and thought I would put it out their for a few to comment on. And see what kind of talk, I can start-up with it... Read on:
Dear Mr.Bush And John Kerry;
Neither of you have put forward an exit strategy for U.S. troops in Iraq or Afghanistan. This open-ended troop deployment, along with the other military commitments of the United States throughout the world, has stretched U.S. forces thin. In order to meet these commitments many soldiers have not been allowed to leave the service at the end of their enlistment (a form of a Draft), thousands of troops are being shifted from South Korea to ease pressure elsewhere, the U.S. is calling up more and more reserves and most recently the Army announced it would call back soldiers who had already left the service.
The House of Representatives voted in May to permanently add 30,000 Army soldiers over the next three years; the Senate voted in June for an additional 20,000 in fiscal 2005. But it is going to be difficult to recruit troops now that young Americans have seen what is going on in Iraq and why this country was plunged into this war of choice in the first place. Indeed, polls show more and more Americans do not support the war and want U.S. troops to come home. The Pentagon's reliance on reservists and National Guard members has grown substantially. The National Guard is being turned into an International Guard. Already the National Guard and reserves make up about 40 percent of our troops in Iraq. Our troops are spread thin even with the expensive outsourcing to corporations of many military functions. As Rep. Charles Rangel of New York, the lead sponsor of a bill to reinstate the draft in the U.S. House of Representatives, recently told The International Herald Tribune "ultimately we will run out of bodies."
Where are the soldiers for your military policies going to come from? As a result of these factors there is increased discussion of the return of the military Draft by elected officials in Congress and commentators. I am writing to you today to urge you to publicly proclaim that you will not support a return of the Draft. An unambiguous clear promise on this matter is needed to put this issue to rest.
Sincerely,
Ralph Nader"
Neither of you have put forward an exit strategy for U.S. troops in Iraq or Afghanistan. This open-ended troop deployment, along with the other military commitments of the United States throughout the world, has stretched U.S. forces thin. In order to meet these commitments many soldiers have not been allowed to leave the service at the end of their enlistment (a form of a Draft), thousands of troops are being shifted from South Korea to ease pressure elsewhere, the U.S. is calling up more and more reserves and most recently the Army announced it would call back soldiers who had already left the service.
The House of Representatives voted in May to permanently add 30,000 Army soldiers over the next three years; the Senate voted in June for an additional 20,000 in fiscal 2005. But it is going to be difficult to recruit troops now that young Americans have seen what is going on in Iraq and why this country was plunged into this war of choice in the first place. Indeed, polls show more and more Americans do not support the war and want U.S. troops to come home. The Pentagon's reliance on reservists and National Guard members has grown substantially. The National Guard is being turned into an International Guard. Already the National Guard and reserves make up about 40 percent of our troops in Iraq. Our troops are spread thin even with the expensive outsourcing to corporations of many military functions. As Rep. Charles Rangel of New York, the lead sponsor of a bill to reinstate the draft in the U.S. House of Representatives, recently told The International Herald Tribune "ultimately we will run out of bodies."
Where are the soldiers for your military policies going to come from? As a result of these factors there is increased discussion of the return of the military Draft by elected officials in Congress and commentators. I am writing to you today to urge you to publicly proclaim that you will not support a return of the Draft. An unambiguous clear promise on this matter is needed to put this issue to rest.
Sincerely,
Ralph Nader"
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