No draft, no way organizing builds

As the illegal occupation of Iraq continues and the Bush administration eyes new targets for its “war on terror,” it is finding that it doesn’t have enough troops to fulfill its imperial ambitions. The Army and Marine Corps are overstretched and have failed to meet their recruiting quotas. The reserve forces have also seen a decline in enlistments, and are quickly becoming a “broken force,” according to Lt. Gen. James R. Helmly.

Andy Stapp, (left) founder of the American Serviceman’s Union during the Vietnam war, with Carl Webb, military resister, at March 19 rally in Marcus Garvey Park.

On March 31, the Selective Service System will report to President Bush that it has met its performance goals for 2004. This performance plan (available at sss.gov) indicates that the Selective Service System is gearing up for a draft. It is staffing local draft boards, training volunteer registrars to work in high schools and colleges, and streamlining the induction process so that it will be ready to implement the draft within 75 days of authorization.

Organizers with No Draft, No Way have called for a nationwide day of actions on March 31 to oppose the draft and military recruiting. From Santa Rosa, Calif., to New York, youth, parents, students and anti-draft activists will take to the streets to say “No draft, no way” Actions include a student walkout in Ames, Iowa; a rally in Nashville, Tenn.; a protest at a recruiting station in Charlotte, N.C., and other actions across the country including public meetings, civil disobedience and training sessions for conscientious objectors.

The next step in the fight against the draft will be a No Draft, No Way Con ference on Youth and Resistance, to be held on Sat., April 16 in New York. This conference will be more than a series of workshops—this is a mobilizing session. Out of this conference, organizers are expected to set up counter-recruiting teams to target specific high school and college campuses to expose the lies of military recruiters and work to remove them from campus; form local groups to fight the draft and counsel potential draftees about draft resistance; and launch a campaign of protest and action against the draft and military recruiting.

For more information or to register go to: http://www.NoDraftNoWay.org.

The writer is a Navy veteran and organizer of the No Draft, No Way campaign.