Mandatory draft proposed in the US

amynicole21 wrote:

Mandatory draft/military service for boys and girls (ages 18-26)starting June
15, 2005, is something that everyone should know about.

This literally affects everyone since we all have or know children that will
have to serve if this bill passes.

There is pending legislation in the house and senate (companion bills: S89 and
HR 163) which will time the program's initiation so the draft can begin as early
as spring, 2005, just after the 2004 presidential election. The administration
is quietly trying to get these bills passed now, while the public's attention is
on the elections, so our action on this is needed immediately. Visit this site
http://thomas.loc.gov/, enter in "HR 163" and click search to bring up the bill.
It is less than two pages long.

If this bill passes, it will include all men and all women from ages 18 - 26 in
a draft for military action. In addition, college will no longer be an option
for avoiding the draft; and an agreement signed with Canada will no longer
permit anyone attempting to dodge the draft to stay within it's borders. This
bill also includes the extension of military service for all those that are
currently active.

If you go to the selective service web site and read their 2004 FYI Goals you
will see that the reason for this is to increase the size of the military in
case of terrorism. This is a critical piece of legislation, this will effect our
undergraduates, our children and our grandchildren.

The draft $28 million has been added to the 2004 selective service system budget
to prepare for a military draft that could start as early as June 15, 2005.
Selective service must report to Bush on March 31, 2005 that the system, which
has lain dormant for decades, is ready for activation. Please see
www.sss.gov/perfplan_fy2004.html to view the Selective Service System annual
performance plan, fiscal year 2004.

The pentagon has quietly begun a public campaign to fill all 10,350 draft board
position s and 11,070 appeals board slots nationwide. Though this is an
unpopular election year topic, military experts and influential members of
congress are suggesting that if Rumsfeld's prediction of a "long, hard slog" in
Iraq and Afghanistan (and permanent state of war on terrorism) proves accurate,
the U.S. may have no choice but to draft.

Please send this on to all the parents and teachers you know, and all the aunts
and uncles, grandparents, godparents...
And let your children know - - it's their future, and they can be a powerful
voice for change!

Please take the time to write your congressman and let them know how you feel
about this legislation.

www.senate.gov < http://www.senate.gov

Boys r us replied: OMG!! I don't even know what to say!!

My2Beauties replied: ^^ I Know what to say, it's all Bush's fault!!! I can't believe this crap, Brian is still 25, if my DF gets drafted I can't even begin to describe how mad I will be!

coasterqueen replied:
Not to start a debate here but I think that's a pretty harsh thing to say. The terrorists started this whole thing..it's their fault that we have to protect ourselves now.

Would you rather us NOT protect ourselves????

I don't want to see a mandatory draft either, but I don't think we should place blame on one certain person. Course as American we feel the need to place blame on others all the time.

MommyToAshley replied: I knew there was legislation proposed, but Bush says that he would not support it. He said that we should keep an all-volunteer military. I don't think he would lie about something this important. But if he did, there would be a lot of people upset including myself. I don't know what Kerry's position is on the draft?

Boys r us replied: I agree, it's not one persons fault! It takes more than one person to pass a bill...

alice&arik replied: I'm 23, I wonder if I would have to go? Maybe because I have a kid I wouldn't? Arik doesn't have anyone else but me so I don't know what I would do. I don't think they can take just anyone though.

ctymom replied:
Thank you!!


There was a time when people loved our country and would serve it proudly to help protect it and preserve our freedom. Nowadays... it's gimmie gimmie gimmie, I want more and complain left and right. And yet stay here.

Did you know that in Israel it is mandatory that EVERYONE serve in the military after graduation?

Pamela

kit_kats_mom replied: I just emailed both of our senators asking what their stances are on this subject.

As a family with a rich history or miliatary service, I find it distrubing that the government is considering taking away our choice in this matter. I feel that if the military needs people when our children are of age, then it is our responsibility as parents to help our children recognize the importance of military service and help them to make a decision that is both good for our country and the family.

I would be really devestated if one of my daughters wanted to get a college degree before she served our country and it was not allowed. I mean, what kind of military will we have if they are all only high school graduates? With the state of our educational system right now, I'd be very, very scared. some of these kids don't have the skills necessary to drive a car responsibly much less handle a loaded weapon.

5littleladies replied: I'm not really sure how I feel about this. I guess while I feel that we have a duty to protect our country, people should also want to do it. I don't know how safe I would feel with people serving in the military who did not want to be there. But I can't imagine this passing anyways.

And for those of you who think this is Bush's doing-I did some searching and it was Charles Rangel, a democrat from New York who introcuced this legislation, so please know your facts before you start pointing fingers.

coasterqueen replied:
You made me think a bit more on this subject. Hee hee. It is a different "time" now than it was in many previous wars we've had. Back then people WANTED to serve and protect our country. They signed up for that very reason. Now a days people sign up to go into the military because they get an education, etc. That's great but that shouldn't be one's primary reason for signing up.

Now that there is a war going on no one WANTS to protect our country. It's the way our society is these days. Granted I don't want to see ANY of my loved ones or anyone's loved ones for that matter be put in harms way, but this is what our country is about FREEDOM and we have to protect that.

If this legislation does pass my 2 BIL's will have to go as well as many of my cousins and DH's cousins and dear friends of ours.

One of my cousin's literally signed up to be in the military when we first went to this war. He said he felt it was his duty to his country first. His mother and many of our family didn't understand this but some of us did. I respect him for doing what he did and will pray for him every second he may have to be in this war. Right now he's not in it..he's in training, but eventually he will more than likely have to go.

redchief replied: I'm not posting because I'm for or against a military draft. I believe that we all have a duty to family, community and country and that we all must do what's necessary to ensure those responsibilities are met. That being said, we all should research these topics in order to have an intelligent dialogue.

S. 89 and H.R. 163 are NOT new bills. They have existed since 2003 and have not gone beyond committee. President Bush has stated he remains committed to a voluntary military. They exist as a vehicle should it become necessary to quickly enlarge the military and similar bills have been tabled since 1980 whenever there was a conflict that could require extended use of military force. It is the federal goverment's responsibility to ensure that this country is able to defend itself from aggression and a military draft is one way.

In July, a report on the status of the military came out that showed that reserve and active military ranks are not shrinking and in some cases, are actually increasing. While you couldn't get any politician to guarantee that no draft will be instituted, logical research doesn't seem to show the need at this time. Most members of Congress fear the repercussions of such a move, and therefore, I believe, wouldn't support a draft bill unless it is glaringly necessary.

Did anyone note the misspelling in the HR version of the bill? Section 12, paragraph 1 of definitions has the word "reverse" instead of "reserve." Dealing with federal grants and legislation regularly, I see these over-reliant on "Spellcheck" errors often. That's what should really scare us. These people are running our country, and being hired lawyers and aides, aren't elected by any of us.

coasterqueen replied:
I haven't read it thoroughly but it scares me too. It not only scares me for the reasons you mentioned but that *sometimes* these spelling errors can wreak havoc on the "intentions" of a bill that later becomes law. I've seen it happen in my state where just a misspelling of a word can make the interpretation much different than intended and can be a costly mistake.

I don't know about the government but our local government has a legislative reference bureau that types up all the legislation...so it's not up to the lawyers to do this...I wonder if those typos are the result of their LRB? Not sure if the US government has one of those.

kit_kats_mom replied:

I think that a big part of the problem is that many of us do not vote. Many Americans are disenchanted with the system and don't really trust our leaders but they don't make their voices heard so that a change can be made. I suspect that since the 9-11 attacks and our leaders responses to them, many more democrats will be voting...especially here in FL where, if they had voted last time (correctly LOL ) it probably would have made a difference in what we are currently going through today.

I suspect that the Vietnam war really changed American's views on "just serving because our president says we should". That war was a disaster and I suspect that the war on terror will end up that way as well. Who wants to go serve in a war that is un-win-able? Not that any war is ever actually won but I think you know what I mean.

It is also much easier to want to serve your country when your country is respected by other nations and there is a sense of pride and strength that you get from being an American. During WWII for example, our servicemen were welcomed and appreciated into the countries that they were helping to defend.

I have family that live on a sailboat and travel around the world. My Aunt is Canadian.They claim Canadian citizenship and fly the Canadian flag on their boat, have Canadian patches sewn to their backpacks etc. They do this because of all of the troubles that Americans run into due to our policies.

redchief replied: I received this e-rumor several times over the last few months and it HAS BEEN THOROUGHLY DEBUNKED as liberal election year scare tactics.

Edited by MommyToAshley: I felt the need to edit your message. While we encourage lively debate here, we ask that you discuss the issues and not attack anyone personally.

So much for free speech.

DansMom replied: Thanks Amy for taking up the anti-Iraq war gauntlet. There is so much I could say on the anti-war side of the issue, but I'm mentally exhausted---I don't have it in me today. I truly welcome opposing views of the issue from people that I respect---and I want to keep our focus on mutual respect. I'm sure it can be difficult on either side of the issue to not make it personal with so much---our lives and futures---literally at stake.

My2Beauties replied:
I know this is a touchy subject and I'm not necessarily saying Bush started the proposal I'm saying that this war has gone on way too long and that it's starting to seem absurd to continue fighitng this war. We've captured Saddam, he hasn't found any weapons, what more does he want our soldiers to do?? I don't know a lot about politics and this whole thing sickens me so much that I don't pay much attention to it anymore besides what I see on the news and read in the paper. But it comes back to him, if we weren't fighting this senseless war to begin with, no one would have to reinstate the draft!!!

ctymom replied: I was listening to someone on tv.... I cant think of his name right now.. but he brought up a point. I'm not exactly for the "Rock the Vote" thing they have going on right now. I personally dont want a bunch of people who have no knowledge of politics and the issues at hand coming to the polls and voting! I believe things would be alot better if the people who dont know a thing about current events, dont watch or read the news, and are clueless on how to vote... shouldn't!! Honestly! lol Wouldnt you rather have people that understand voting?

If you needed clearance for something important and it had to be voted on... wouldnt you rather have people that understand your situation voting? Not someone doing eeny meenie minie moe? LOL

I just thought it was funny... but man, if you think about it... wouldnt it be better?

Pamela

coasterqueen replied:
It is a scary thought. My Dh's cousin and her DH are 25 years old and have never registered to vote yet they complain about politics, president, etc. I tell them repeatedly I don't want to hear their complaints because honestly they have nothing to complain about when they don't even vote. Well they got registered this year and I bet you 10 bucks they don't even try to educate themselves on the candidates before voting.

I have noticed this lately that a LOT of people don't educate themselves on the politics but place blame on people. As well as it scares me to death that some who don't educate themselves on the issues go and vote. My sister tells me she just votes for the name she remembers or if a president doesn't do something for HER (although they may do something for the good of MANY versus just her) she'll just vote for the other president. I dare not claim her as my sister.

I agree...if I was being voted on for something important I would not want those who chose not to educate themselves on the matter voting for me!

bucky replied:
The terrorists aren't in Iraq though, and never have been, where the majority of our military is.

I heard one person say that maybe we should get a draft - maybe then a lot more people would realize we shouldn't have gone to Iraq in the first place when its there son or daughter over there and not just someone elses.

Either way, like someone else said... this is only in committee just in case something drastic happens where it's needed quickly. Neither Kerry nor Bush would want this to have to be put into policy.

kimberley replied:
hmm i agree that people should educate themselves before voting but can understand why a lot of people don't bother... a lot of campaign promises are never met so it comes down to whose BS would you rather listen to.

coasterqueen replied:
I agree with you there, but honestly we don't live in a perfect world and I don't think there is ONE politician that keeps all their promises. I would be naive to think that ANY of them do.

They all promise things..like Kerry promises to make things better with the war, etc. How does he REALLY know that when there are other factors/people that he can't control doing so. Now I'm not picking on Kerry...just using him as an example.

When there is a legislature involved...it's hard for presidents to keep every promise. Although I agree if they don't KNOW it's achievable they shouldn't promise it. But that's just not the way it is.

5littleladies replied:
He wants us to finish what we started. If we left now when the Iraqis aren't ready to defend themselves what do you think would happen? Do you really think we should abandon them now? Am I glad that our soldiers are dying? No! Am I proud beyond belief that our soldiers are willing to go over there and fight for the Iraqi people? You better believe it.

amynicole21 replied:
I think that we've been force fed the lie that the Iraqi people need us and want us there. We are NOT wanted there by a large majority of the people, and the Iraqi people aren't helpless weaklings that need the big strong US to bail them out. Saddam is an awful horrible evil man and I am glad that he's out of power, but did we need to destroy the entire country with no plan to rebuild it again? I just feel like it could have all been done with a lot more planning. Even Bush Sr. said it would be insanity to go back into Iraq. But, at the same time we do have a responsibility to clean up after the mess we made. I just wish we could have handled this another way

coasterqueen replied:

If we sat around and "planned" this as thoroughly as people would want us to (i.e. years of planning) we would have possibly seen more attacks on US like New York. I don't think we can afford to sit and plan this down to the very last detail when our people are dying here. Then people would start complaining why we weren't doing something about it. But I guess if that was the case at least we could have said well we aren't doing anything about it physically but hey we are planning it. There would be a whole other group of citizens upset about that as well. Bush would have been damned no matter what he did to some people.

ctymom replied:
Politicians are politicians and always will be. Nature of the beast I guess. BUT... I want to know where a person stands. I want to know that his opinion wont change depending on the people in the room at the time. I dont have to believe in or agree with everything they say... but always a plus to know where they stand.

And if you think about it... how many times have anyone here made plans and had high hopes of getting something accomplished just to have one thing after another pop up that needs to get done first? Life happens.

Pamela

aspenblue1 replied: I thought everyone may find this interesting
House Rejects Draft Bill In Effort To End Rumors
Nearly Unanimous Vote Is Symbolic Measure Against Military Draft

POSTED: 10:42 pm EDT October 5, 2004

WASHINGTON -- Call it a symbolic squashing.

The U.S. House of Representatives -- in a near unanimous vote -- has defeated a military draft bill proposed as a protest last year by New York Democrat Charles Rangel.

Even Rangel urged his colleagues to vote against the bill. But Rangel accused Republicans of trying to use the vote to escape election-season questions about the war in Iraq.

Republicans also hope to shoot down an Internet rumor that President George W. Bush plans to reinstate the draft. Bush has repeatedly said that he won't.

Only two lawmakers, Democrats John Murtha of Pennsylvania, and Pete Stark of California, voted for the draft measure.

Murtha said the war is being fought by only a small segment of the population

amynicole21 replied:
Iraq didn't attack the US or New York. And yes, WE (the US) are getting a lot of money for rebuilding, after we bombed the crap out of every building in Baghdad, killed innocent people because of misinformation and errors, and at the cost of over 1,000 lives and counting. Was it worth it?

coasterqueen replied:
What innocent people are we killing? Our soldiers are dying yes, but what civilians are we killing that are innocent that the Iraqi's wouldn't have killed themselves. We seem to live in this dream world thinking that Saddam would never come and get us. PLEASEEEEEEEEEEE. Also we may have not found what we were looking for in Iraq but I'm no fool and I don't think anyone else is either so I'll assume we all really do think they are making weapons of mass destruction. And who are they going to use them against? Hmmmmmmm. Not themselves . The stupid thing we did was annouce we were looking for weapons and gave them way too much time to rid of them. They aren't stupid people...they made sure we wouldn't find them. That's all.

Misinformation and errors? Do you think all the information you get in life is accurate. NO. We have to rely on intelligence and as humans we are not perfect....there is going to be some misinformation. I'm not convinced it was misinformation..I'm convinced we gave them too much time to make it misinformation by getting rid of the evidence. And errors? Come on, the wool is not over my eyes. There are going to be errors in anything we do. None of us are perfect. Why are WE allowed to make errors in life but NO ONE else is? Well IMO if I'm going to expect our government to be perfect....I better be perfect too. Just remember those who are running our government are human too....they make mistakes too. They also make errors on purpose and that's when justice steps in.

The only reason why there are politicians (democrats) against this war is because it's an election year and they want control of the government. I see it in my own state, I'm sure you see it in yours. When one party is in control the other party is going to find every little piece of information they can to use against the other party to win. It's politics .

Was it worth it? YES! Saddam is behind bars...that in itself was worth it for me. Would it be worth it for us to not do anything and let another 1,000 or so INNOCENT lives die in New York again or other states? No....not to me.

Boys r us replied: Amen Brother Ben!

ctymom replied:


I dont get it when people talk about us killing innocent people. I dont think they realize the torcher Sadam put on people there. His own family even! It was pure evil. Now, what people do in other countries is their business I guess.... but a line was crossed into the US and 1,000's of innocent people murdered. 9/11... anyone remember that? Why is that always forgotten?

The media needs to stop. Honestly. They distort the truth so badly it sickens me. I guess we should have let Hitler continue on and not go over there and end the terror b/c innocent people might have gotten hurt. The media wasnt all up in the middle of that war and things got done.

Putting Sadam behind bars is not the end of it all. The job needs to be finished. Not done half-butt and asking the other countries permission like Kerry wants. OH Please!

alright... I need to stop now... I get too emotional over it. Drives me insane.
Pamela

My2Beauties replied:
Amen, the people do not want us there!!

ctymom replied: yeah, the people leading and supporting the terror in the country dont want us there. Ask the women who can finally go to school and not worry about Sadam torchering them or their family and those who want to lead peaceful, constructive lives.

Pamela

Boys r us replied: Okay, I've been a good girl so far..but it's time for the horns to come out!

In response to the quote that the Iraqi people do not want us there, I have to respond!
How many soldiers do you know who are in Iraq? I know several and they all are doing seperate things there, on seperate missions and do not know one another.
and yet they ALL say that the load of junk we see on tv about how the Iraqi people do not want us there is hog wash! Those people are SO happy we are there. yes our presence has caused immediate chaos to their country, yet, it is better than the life long turmoil caused by Saddam that they had suffered and had no choice but to leave the same legacy to their children. They are happy we are there. We have liberated them form an evil mastermind who shot, raped, tortured people at will for no other reason than his own saddistic pleasures!

yes there are people in Iraq who do not want us there, but from the FIRST HAND stories I have heard of friends I have there who say they are greeted in the streets by the general public of Iraq I have to believe them..not the media who picks and chooses the images they portray to us.

My2Beauties replied:
OK that is all fine and dandy, but what happened to the search for Osama Bin Laden and Al Qaeda?? THis just proves to me Bush is doing this for oil, not terrorism? Why isnt he looking for the man who admitted that he attacked us??? This whole war is stupid! Did you see Farenheit 9-11, I haven't seen it myself but I've heard plenty about it and I can't believe our president flew all the Bin Ladens in the US back to their home country!!!!!???

Bush just won't admit that he is wrong!

jcc64 replied: There is smoke coming out of my ears right now. I'm going to try and control myself and keep this civilized.
How can you possibly assert that the enormous suffering of the Iraqi people is a figment of the media's imagination???????????? Do you not pay attention to the news everyday?
We are all very familiar with the images of 9/11 by now. Almost 3000 people died and countless others lost their homes, their jobs, entire neighborhoods were destroyed. It transpired over the course of 1 day. This you can believe because you saw it with your own eyes, right? A terrible tragedy, right?
Why is this so real, so painful, and yet the suffering of the people who have been living in the war zone of our creation for over a year is exaggerated, abstract, somehow not important to you. Many many more than 3000 people have died, by our own gov't's estimates. If anything, the American media has been sorely negligent in reporting the magnitude of the civilian casualties we are directly responsible for. Have you not heard about the little boy whose entire family was killed by a bomb we dropped, and who lost all 4 limbs? Is this child's suffering not real? Is his life less valuable than your child's?
I absolutely cannot believe the callousness of some of the people involved in this debate.
Life is precious. ALL life. Not just our own.

Boys r us replied: Hannasmommy, I commend you for being young and being well versed on what's going on in the world, yet at the sametime, I encourage you to take the time to research the facts before you form a strong opinion either way. I'm not trying to sway you into buying my beliefs, I just want your own to be solidly formed!

Media and movies can relay any message they want, media in itself is like a work of art..and art is just one big lie..whether you're talking about a picture of a person in the park who is pleasantly smiling, who maybe 2 minutes before was crying but then saw something or someone who made them smile...or whether your'e talking about footage captured by the news..the photographer only wanted to show the smile, which was only a short part of the whole story, the same as the media who only shows a snipit of the video footage they taped..they can show you 5 seconds of something that could lead you to think one thing, where as if you see the WHOLE video you may have another opinion! It's just food for thought! Take some time to look into this all and you may see that there can be doubt cast on either side. President Bush didn't do this alone, he acted on information from a lot of people.

coasterqueen replied:
Well we've tried to keep this debate civil not calling people names so I'm very offended that you are calling people callous and I'm sure I'm one of them.

I'm not going to respond to the remark because I do plan to keep this debate civil from my standpoint. It's nice to come here and debate about something in a civil manner without name calling. So I'm going to assume you are having a bad day and leave it at that.

The only thing I will say is in order to save/protect lives....lives have to be lost. Do you know know the history of our freedom? All lives are precious, you bet. But in order to protect our lives...unfortunately some have to die. My husband just said yesterday that if there was a draft and even though he's older...if he was asked to go..you bet he would. He knows that he could never look into his child's eyes and not feel guilty if he didn't do EVERYTHING he could to protect her...and unfortunately this is life and that means protecting our country!

My2Beauties replied:
I totally respect your view on this and I, myself have not seen the movie, I'm just going off what people have told me about the documentation shown on the movie! That is just one more thing added to the list of things I am leary about when it comes to Bush, I know how the media does by not letting us see the entire story, this is just something that makes me leary about our president. I'm sure there are things that I will dislike about Kerry if he is elected as well and there are things that make me leary of him too, like the people he was with in his platoon who aren't backing him?? HOwever, I do know that I agree with his views more than I do Bush's!

When it comes down to it it's all about a person's opinion and beliefs. Obviously we need to agree to disagree on this subject. Politics are a very very touchy subject and it seems as if we're ticking some people off continuing this conversation because nomatter what people have such strong beliefs that no one's opinion will be swayed. I respect everyone's opinion, none of us are experts and we need to let the people decide! Remember, whoever becomes President someone will always complain

jcc64 replied: I'm sorry if you were offended by my choice of language, but my sentiment remains the same. People are dying, in vast numbers for questionable reasones-our people, their people, and I really cannot understand how anyone can minimize the suffering of the Iraqis or claim it's a media fabrication.

Where should we draw the line? Do we have the right to go around the world blowing everyone up so we can "feel" safer?



I don't even know what to say to that one. Did it ever occur to you the gov't may be engaging in the very same behavior you describe? It's certainly not without precedent (Vietnam, the Pentagon Papers, Watergate, Iran contra, I can go on and on).

ctymom replied:
I do not appreciate your comments one bit. All this was civil regardless of differences and I find your post offensive and rude.

If you cant be adult and civil... maybe you shouldn't post.

Pamela

kit_kats_mom replied:
Deep breath everyone....

I honestly don't find anything wrong with Jeannine's post except for the line about callousness. That was a poorly chosen line and I can see how that would upset you. However, she did not personally attack you...no names were given, right?
The rest of the post is just her sharing her views and asking us to question our beliefs and what is fed to us from every direction...which I think is a good thing. Same as someone else was asking HannasMommy to question the media. I think we should all be questioning our leaders/media everything.

coasterqueen replied:
I agree that she was just sharing her views too. We all should be able to do this. I just think we can leave out the words that are sort of name-calling when it comes to members of this board.

kit_kats_mom replied:
I just find it disturbing that there is so much double speak and spin on everything. NPR was rehashing the vice presidential debates this morning and taking things that Cheney and Edwards said then following them up with "true/false reports". I tuned in late but most of the misleading stuff was coming from Cheney.

Granted, I may have missed where they were bashing Edwards. I suspect he also had his fare share of spin. (I'll tune in to FOX NEWS to get the Edwards bashing LOL) Just drives me nuts. Why can't politicians admit when they say something wrong rather than either deny it or try to spin it into something else? UGH...I really hate politics. It is really almost impossible

Boys r us replied:

You're exactly right..and I'm suggesting that the government, the media, the movies all of it should be questioned! Don't believe something just because someone said it or b/c it was on TV. Dig for the facts and settle for nothing less!
We can all use these tools to form our opinions, but they should be based soley on them b/c they can all be very misleading!

ctymom replied:
It was directed toward me (and others)b/c I made the comments regarding the media and their actions. So yes, she explained her views but rudely. But enough said.

Pamela

jcc64 replied: I will own the offensiveness of the word choice, and for that I apologize.
However, I really fail to see how my posts are rude in any other way.
Most of you know me. I've been here a long time. I have VERY strong opinions, particularly regarding the war. I think I'm pretty conscientious about no personal attacks, and I would appreciate the same consideration you're asking for. Calling someone rude is hardly a compliment, right?

3_call_me_mama replied:
no i didn't but sure am glad thst i don't live there.... BTW what ever happened to land of the free... to make our OWN choices.....I support people who choose to protect and serve our country, but i do not support people telling us that we HAVE to serve... terrorists or not, everything else is based on choice here, so should the military.