Nader tells youths to brace for draft

• Article
• Comments ()
• Click-2-Listen
• Videos

By

Presidential candidate Ralph Nader this weekend warned his constituents that a military draft is pending, and asked younger voters to prepare.

The independent candidate noted that the federal government is filling seats on local draft boards as preparation for a reinstatement of the draft, which was eliminated in 1973.

"The Pentagon is quietly recruiting new members to fill local draft boards, as the machinery for drafting a new generation of young Americans is being quietly put into place," Mr. Nader said in a press release sent out to constituents and posted on his Web site during the weekend.

"Young Americans need to know that a train is coming, and it could run over their generation in the same way that the Vietnam War devastated the lives of those who came of age in the sixties."

Kevin Zeese, a spokesman for the Nader campaign, said draft boards are being rebuilt "right now" and that the demands on the U.S. military are growing.

"I don't think that Ralph feels that the draft is imminent, but we are looking at the shortage of troops in Iraq and the calls from [Senator John] Kerry for 40,000 more troops. What Ralph is saying is that if students don't start to organize right now, it will be too late," Mr. Zeese said.

Rumors of a draft reinstatement emerged in the fall when the Selective Service announced that it was recruiting members for the nation's 2,000 local draft and appeals boards. A Selective Service spokesman said yesterday that the announcement was made to help fill spots on the boards, as many members' 20-year terms ended.

"It was misread then," said the spokesman, Pat Schuback. "Their terms are expiring right now, and that's what is going on."

"We're prepared to do our jobs here if needed," he said. "And it is important for us to be ready. The administration has been very clear about wanting to keep this volunteer, and we understand that. We let the politicians do the politics."

He noted that Selective Service, a branch of the Justice Department, has seen personnel numbers drop recently. The agency went from 166 full-time staffers in fiscal 2003 to 156 this year.