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| Christian Grantham was a student activist in the late 90s and later was a consultant to domestic policy forums for the Clinton Administration as well as events for HRC and GLAAD. | |||
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latest posts
October 16, 2004
Who is more credible on the prospects of instituting a draft in America?
"With George Bush, the plan for Iraq is more of the same and the great potential of a draft. Because if we go it alone, I don't know how you do it with the current overextension" of the military, Kerry said.
[Kerry Warns Draft Possible if Bush Wins - AP - 10-16-04]
In the first Presidential debate, Bush unleashed "one of those exaggerations" when he said:
"There are 100,000 troops trained: police, guard, special units, border patrol. There's going to be 125,000 trained by the end of this year."
[First 2004 Presidential Debate - Transcript - 10-01-04]
Yet another "miscalculation" and blatant misrepresentation. The official plan is to have the administration's goal of 135,000 fully trained police by July 2006, not December 2004 [Key Bush assertions about Iraq in dispute - Reuters - 09-26-04]. Here is the truth.
The challenges to the United States in training and deploying that many officers are considerable, officials acknowledge. Currently, about 82,051 Iraqi police officers are on the payroll, but only 32,880 have received training under U.S. guidance, according to figures provided by Capt. Steven Alvarez, an Army officer working with the Iraqi Interior Ministry. Of that number, Congress was told last week that only 8,200 had received the eight-week training; the rest got a more basic course for three weeks or less.
Deputy Secretary of State Richard L. Armitage described the latter group as "shake and bake" trainees, saying in congressional testimony last week that they were mostly former police officers under Saddam Hussein's government being trained "primarily in human rights, respect for law, things of that nature."
[U.S. Says More Iraqi Police Are Needed as Attacks Continue - Washington Post - 09-28-04]
Despite these facts, The Republican National Committee presents the case for censoring discussions of a draft in a "cease and desist" letter to Rock The Vote.
Yet, as you must be aware, this urban myth regarding a draft has been thoroughly debunked by no less than the President of the United States, who explicitly stated, 'We don't need the draft. Look, the all-volunteer Army is working..." as well as the Vice President, who explained, "And the notion that somebody's peddling out there that there is a secret plan to reinstitute the draft, hogwash, not true." Additionally, the Secretary of Defense, "heatedly denied yesterday that the military plans to bring back the draft and boost reserves and National Guard call-ups after the November election. 'That is absolute nonsense,' [Donald] Rumsfeld told the Senate Armed Services Committee. 'It's absolutely false that anyone in this administration is considering reinstituting the draft.'"In light of the above statements, the only conclusion to be drawn is that your Rock The Vote "draft Your Friends" camapign is being conducting with malicious intent and a reckless disregard for the truth. As a "non-partisan" organization that enjoys the benefits of being formed under 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Service Code, you have an obligation to immediately cease and desist from promoting or conducting your "Draft" campaign.
[Letter to Rock The Vote - RNC - 10-13-04 - (view PDF)]
BS TRANSLATOR: "The President, Vice President and Secretary of Defense have shown great respect and care for the facts and the truth regarding the war in Iraq. They would never misrepresent the facts. Our mission was accomplished last year, and America shares an equal burden with a vast coalition of allies. Our Armed Forces are not stretched thin. With that said, cease and desist with your un-American questioning of their authority and their version of reality, or face government censorship."
filed under: Catastrophic Success