← Autodidact Archive · Original Dissent · Sertorius
Thread ID: 4555 | Posts: 8 | Started: 2003-01-21
2003-01-21 21:38 | User Profile
For immediate release
Commander's Letter to Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld The Honorable Donald H. Rumsfeld Secretary of Defense The Pentagon Washington, D.C. 20301
Dear Secretary Rumsfeld: During a recent Department press briefing, you responded to a question regarding Rep. Charles Rangel's intentions to introduce a bill that would require national service of young Americans, in effect instituting a draft for both military and domestic service to the nation.
I and the 2.8 million members of The American Legion are very disappointed in your choice of words. You said, "Big categories were exempted - people that were in college, people that were teaching, people that were married. It varied from time to time, but there were all kinds of exemptions. And what was left was sucked into the intake, trained for a period of months, and then went out, adding NO VALUE, NO ADVANTAGE, really, to the United States armed services over any sustained period of time, because with the churning that took place, it took (an) enormous amount of effort in terms of training, and then they were gone."
Mr. Secretary, every service member who sacrificed during the Vietnam War - volunteer and draftee alike - was a precious national asset. Viet Cong and North Vietnamese mortars and bullets did not discriminate between volunteer or conscripted American fighting men and women.
There are 58,229 names inscribed on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington. Both draftees and volunteers alike are listed among the wall's honored dead. Their sacrifice was, indeed, valuable.
I know it is not easy to always field questions with absolute accuracy and intent, but I hope you will reconsider your response with a retraction and an apology to the families of those "draftees" who served America with honor and gave their very lives for their country.
Sincerely, Ronald F. Conley National Commander Cc: President George W. Bush
Fat chance of "Rummy" apologizing for making an ass out of himself. To swine like him and his chickenhawk buddies like Perle and Wolfowitz, G.I.s are just so much cannon folders to be expended for their war for Israel and oil.
I hope Hackworth burn this obnoxious jerk a new one.
2003-01-21 21:47 | User Profile
washingtonpost.com
WASHINGTON IN BRIEF
Wednesday, January 8, 2003; Page A05
Rumsfeld: No Draft Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld and the Pentagon's top military commander said yesterday they opposed reviving a draft after a leading House Democrat introduced a bill requiring mandatory military or national civilian service.
Rumsfeld said troops from Vietnam War conscription added "no value, no advantage, really, to the United States armed services . . . because the churning that took place, it took an enormous amount of effort in terms of training, and then they were gone." Air Force Gen. Richard B. Myers, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, seconded Rumsfeld's assessment during a Pentagon news conference.
The Pentagon rebuff came minutes after Rep. Charles B. Rangel (D-N.Y.) announced he had introduced a measure to require all U.S. citizens and permanent residents ages 18 to 26 to complete two years of compulsory service inside or outside the armed forces.
Rangel said the president and Congress would be more cautious about going to war knowing that their children might be required to serve and "placed in harm's way."
ââ¬Â¢ The Bush administration withheld a decision on Israel's request for $8 billion in loan guarantees and $4 billion in special assistance. The request is based on the costs of conflict with the Palestinians and preparations for possible attack by Iraq.
(snip)
é 2003 The Washington Post Company
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2003-01-21 21:54 | User Profile
ÃÂ ÃÂ ÃÂ ÃÂ ÃÂ ÃÂ ÃÂ ÃÂ ÃÂ ÃÂ ÃÂ ÃÂ
IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Press Release
January 15, 2003
No. 03-02
(301) 585-4000
Contact:
Mokie Porter
ÃÂ VVA OUTRAGED BY DEFENSE SECRETARY RUMSFELD'S DRAFT REMARKS
Link to Secretary Rumsfeld's article in The Washington Post Audio PSA Response From A Vietnam Veteran Medic Audio PSA Response From A Vietnam Veteran NurseÃÂ Audio PSA Response From The Mother Of A Vietnam Veteran
(Washington, D.C) ââ¬â "We are deeply disappointed by the Secretary of Defense's disparaging remarks last week regarding Vietnam War draftees.
These remarks defame the honorable and distinguished service of over 1.7 million draftees during the Vietnam Era," Vietnam Veterans of America national President Thomas H. Corey said today. "The Secretary's comments are without foundation at best and insulting at worst."
Corey was responding to remarks made Wednesday, January 8, by Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld that draftees added "no value, no advantage, really, to the United States Armed Services over any sustained period of time."
"Secretary Rumsfeld should know that the Vietnam War could not have continued for 10 years without a military draft of honorable Americans who accepted their military obligation as citizens of this great country," Corey said. "The United States won every military confrontation with the enemy in Vietnam, and that was accomplished with the devoted and often heroic service of many tens of thousands of draftees. Further, a system of military conscription has been used in most of America's wars, including World War II, World War I, and the Civil War."
Rumsfeld made his remarks in response to a call last week by Congressman Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.) to reinstate the draft. "More than 17,000 of the more than 58,000 men and women whose names are on The Wall were draftees," Corey continued. "It is wrong for anyone to demean their memories and insult their families as the Secretary did last week. Similarly, it is wrong to demean the hundreds of thousands of us who were wounded and disabled as a result of our honorable service. Our service did have value. Most of us went on to make significant contributions to America in civilian life that are valued by our families, our friends, our communities, and by most Americans."
"At a bare minimum, the Secretary owes an apology to the families of those draftees whose names are inscribed on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, and those who served with them," Corey said.
Vietnam Veterans of America (VVA) is the nation's only congressionally chartered veterans service organization dedicated to the needs of Vietnam-era veterans and their families.ÃÂ VVA's founding principle is "Never again will one generation of veterans abandon another."
Vietnam Veterans of America îà8605 Cameron Street, Suite 400 Silver Spring, Marylandà20910-3710 301-585-4000, Fax 301-585-0519, 1-800-VVA-1316àÃÂ
Copyright é 2003 by the Vietnam Veterans of America. All rights reserved.
[url=http://www.vva.org/PressReleases/2003/pr03-02.htm]http://www.vva.org/PressReleases/2003/pr03-02.htm[/url]
2003-01-22 12:50 | User Profile
The Rummy creep, I believe, served a 'hitch' in the Marines before the Vietnam War. Since the Marines are all volunteers, he never served with draftees.
I also served with the Marines prior to Vietnam, then served 12 years in the Army, including a tour with an infantry battalion in the Central Highlands of Vietnam, 1969-70. Draftees were a few years older, better educated, and more mature than regular army volunteers, they presented less of a problem, and they generally made good soldiers. Those coming from rural backgrounds were among the finest combat troops in Vietnam.
The Rummy creep is a monumental asshole.
-Z-
2003-01-22 13:07 | User Profile
Hey -- this was just on NBC Today (0805 EST). Rumsfeld is backtracking!! and apologizes.
He (and Bush) still sound like circus clowns on this Iraq war thing.
BEYOND surreal. Will Israel rescind the orders for the American attack on Iraq? The American public and the world is waiting.
2003-01-22 20:56 | User Profile
**"More than 17,000 of the more than 58,000 men and women whose names are on The Wall were draftees," Corey continued. "It is wrong for anyone to demean their memories and insult their families as the Secretary did last week. Similarly, it is wrong to demean the hundreds of thousands of us who were wounded and disabled as a result of our honorable service. Our service did have value. Most of us went on to make significant contributions to America in civilian life that are valued by our families, our friends, our communities, and by most Americans." **
Many volunteers such as myself were motivated by the draft to select their own future. I would bet more than one-half the dead were really draftees. I wonder if he cleared these remarks with Bush and Cheney.
2003-01-22 21:00 | User Profile
Originally posted by edward gibbon@Jan 22 2003, 14:56 ** I wonder if he cleared these remarks with Bush and Cheney. **
Since I never served in the military, I don't feel I have a right to comment on this issue with any vigor. I applaud those that have served.
I will say that your point on Bush/Cheney is probably spot-on. Remember, both of them evaded war entirely, so I'm not sure they have any right to command troops into battle, any more than I do.
-Jay
2003-01-23 00:45 | User Profile
Those coming from rural backgrounds were among the finest combat troops in Vietnam.
Hackworth made this point in his autobiograhy About Face: he said that Southern & Midwestern country boys made the best soldiers, due to growing up in the woods stalking game with rifles in their hands.
On the other hand, he said city boys were useless by comparison (and I bet he had blacks & PRs in mind as he said it).