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The Washington Times
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Nader tells youths to brace for draft

By Steve Miller
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
Published April 13, 2004

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.
    Another third-party candidate, Libertarian Aaron Russo, has joined Mr.
Nader in warning Americans that a draft is a real possibility, despite
denials from all quarters of the Bush administration.
    Mr. Russo, one of three front-runners vying for the Libertarian
nomination, said at a party forum in Virginia last month that "the draft is a
bipartisan effort between Republicans and Democrats that will start after the
2004 presidential election, for obvious reasons," a prediction he repeats on
his campaign Web site.
    It would take legislative action by Congress to reinstate the draft, which
was ended in 1973, about two months before the last U.S. troops were
withdrawn from Vietnam. Registration with the Selective Service was halted
from 1975 to 1980, but was reinstated under President Carter after Russia
invaded Afghanistan.
    A bill was drafted by South Carolina Sen. Ernest F. Hollings in January
2003, putting in place the parameters for a draft. Its House companion
legislation was introduced simultaneously by New York Rep. Charles B. Rangel.
Both lawmakers are Democrats.
    The bills have gone nowhere, though, and nothing is expected to come from
them.
    Young men today are still required to register with the Selective Service
within 30 days of their 18th birthdays. There are 15 million men ages 18 to
25 registered with the agency.
 
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