AZTOY
Member
Rangel Wants Mandatory Military Service
Monday, Dec. 30, 2002 9:35 a.m. EST
CNSNews.com - Rep. Charlie Rangel, D-N.Y., will introduce a bill in the next congressional session to make military service mandatory.
"I'm going to introduce legislation to have universal military service to let everyone have an opportunity to defend the Free World against the threats coming to us," said Rangel on CNN's "Late Edition."
Rangel, who voted against a joint resolution authorizing military action against Iraq in October, believes mandatory enlistment for men ages 18-26 would serve as a deterrent to war.
"When you talk about a war, you're talking about ground troops, you're talking about enlisted people, and they don't come from the kids and members of Congress," Rangel said. "I think, if we went home and found out that there were families concerned about their kids going off to war, there would be more cautiousness and a more willingness to work with the international community than to say, 'Our way or the highway.'"
The last time the U.S. had a draft was in 1971, when it was discontinued under then-President Richard Nixon at the height of the Vietnam War.
Prior to Nixon's ending conscription in the face of massive protests against U.S. involvement in Vietnam, the U.S. had continued with a draft since World War II, in peacetime and in wartime, under Presidents Roosevelt, Truman, Eisenhower, Kennedy and Johnson.
Rangel, who argues that that we should not be more worried about Iraq than any of our other enemies, did not reveal specifics of his proposal during the interview.
http://www.newsmax.com/showinsidecover.shtml?a=2002/12/30/95025
*** :banghead:
Monday, Dec. 30, 2002 9:35 a.m. EST
CNSNews.com - Rep. Charlie Rangel, D-N.Y., will introduce a bill in the next congressional session to make military service mandatory.
"I'm going to introduce legislation to have universal military service to let everyone have an opportunity to defend the Free World against the threats coming to us," said Rangel on CNN's "Late Edition."
Rangel, who voted against a joint resolution authorizing military action against Iraq in October, believes mandatory enlistment for men ages 18-26 would serve as a deterrent to war.
"When you talk about a war, you're talking about ground troops, you're talking about enlisted people, and they don't come from the kids and members of Congress," Rangel said. "I think, if we went home and found out that there were families concerned about their kids going off to war, there would be more cautiousness and a more willingness to work with the international community than to say, 'Our way or the highway.'"
The last time the U.S. had a draft was in 1971, when it was discontinued under then-President Richard Nixon at the height of the Vietnam War.
Prior to Nixon's ending conscription in the face of massive protests against U.S. involvement in Vietnam, the U.S. had continued with a draft since World War II, in peacetime and in wartime, under Presidents Roosevelt, Truman, Eisenhower, Kennedy and Johnson.
Rangel, who argues that that we should not be more worried about Iraq than any of our other enemies, did not reveal specifics of his proposal during the interview.
http://www.newsmax.com/showinsidecover.shtml?a=2002/12/30/95025
*** :banghead:
