6.08.2005
Despite U.S. Pledges, Fear of Draft Persists (SeattleTimes.com)
By Christian Davenport
The Washington Post
WASHINGTON — Rarely in the more than 30 years since the draft was abolished has the Selective Service triggered such angst. Two years into the Iraq war, concern that the draft will be reinstated to supplement an overextended military persists — no matter how often, or emphatically, President Bush and members of Congress say it won't.
In this atmosphere of suspicion, the Selective Service System, the agency that conscripted 1.8 million Americans during the Vietnam War and 10 million in World War II, quietly pursues its delicate dual mission: keeping the draft machinery ready, without sparking fear that it is coming back.
"We're told not to do a particular thing but to be prepared to do it," said Dan Amon, a spokesman for the Selective Service, which last year registered about 15.6 million young men between the draft-eligible ages of 18 and 25. "We just continue to carry out our mission as mandated by Congress."
These days, the agency spends a lot of time allaying fears and dispelling rumors.
One of the first things you see at the Selective Service Web site, www.sss.gov/, is an explanation of how Congress voted 402 to 2 against a bill to make military service mandatory.
(More ... The Seattle Times: Despite U.S. pledges, fear of draft persists) ¶ 07:58
The Washington Post
WASHINGTON — Rarely in the more than 30 years since the draft was abolished has the Selective Service triggered such angst. Two years into the Iraq war, concern that the draft will be reinstated to supplement an overextended military persists — no matter how often, or emphatically, President Bush and members of Congress say it won't.
In this atmosphere of suspicion, the Selective Service System, the agency that conscripted 1.8 million Americans during the Vietnam War and 10 million in World War II, quietly pursues its delicate dual mission: keeping the draft machinery ready, without sparking fear that it is coming back.
"We're told not to do a particular thing but to be prepared to do it," said Dan Amon, a spokesman for the Selective Service, which last year registered about 15.6 million young men between the draft-eligible ages of 18 and 25. "We just continue to carry out our mission as mandated by Congress."
These days, the agency spends a lot of time allaying fears and dispelling rumors.
One of the first things you see at the Selective Service Web site, www.sss.gov/, is an explanation of how Congress voted 402 to 2 against a bill to make military service mandatory.
(More ... The Seattle Times: Despite U.S. pledges, fear of draft persists) ¶ 07:58
