Obama Calls for US Military Mobilization

[King Cobra]

Sept. 13, 2008

In remarks that clearly pointed toward the restoration of the military draft under an Obama administration, the Democratic candidate said Thursday night that his job as president would include demanding that the American people recognize an “obligation” for military service. “If we are going into war, then all of us go, not just some,” Senator Barack Obama declared.

Obama’s comments came as he and his Republican opponent, Senator John McCain, took part in a forum on national service at Columbia University in New York City. Earlier in the day, both candidates joined in a memorial service at the site of the World Trade Center, commemorating the victims of the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

While “national service” encompasses more than the military, including such government-run programs as the Peace Corps, Americorps and Teach for America, as well as private and religious programs, both McCain and Obama focused on expanding the US Armed Forces as a major goal of the next administration, whether Democratic or Republican.

In an indication of the bipartisan support for the increasing militarization of American society, McCain jokingly offered to name Obama his coordinator for national service if the Republican were to win the election, and Obama reciprocated.

The forum was co-hosted by Judy Woodruff of the Public Broadcasting Service and Richard Stengel, editor of Time magazine. Woodruff introduced Stengel as the man responsible for the magazine’s 2007 cover story, “The Case for National Service,” which Woodruff said had “ignited this movement.”

McCain was the first of the two candidates to appear at the forum. In response to a direct question from Woodruff, he rejected the restoration of the draft, voicing support for maintaining an all-volunteer army. Such a disavowal is to be expected 55 days before a presidential election, and no doubt Obama would have given a similar response had he been asked the same question.

But in the course of his discussion with Woodruff and Stengel, McCain repeatedly connected the imperative of “national service” with the outbreak of international crises in which an American military role would be posed. Citing the Russian intervention in Georgia and the deteriorating position of the US-backed regime in Afghanistan, he said the American people could “see a whole lot of things happening in the world that’s going to require us to serve.”

McCain also said that he would sign the bipartisan legislation, co-sponsored in the Senate by Democrat Edward Kennedy and Republican Orrin Hatch, to triple the size of Americorps, the domestic version of the Peace Corps.

Obama’s comments were even more directly related to building up the US military. He spoke at some length to offer effusive praise for the armed forces. Woodruff asked him about the record number of Army officers leaving the military because of repeated, lengthy overseas deployments.

The candidate responded, “Well, first of all, as commander-in-chief, my job is to keep America safe. And that means insuring that we’ve got the best military on Earth. And that means having the best persons in uniform on Earth. We have that right now, but as a consequence of these wars, they have been strained incredibly. I think it’s important for us to increase the size of our Army and our Marines so we can reduce the pace of tours that our young men and women are on.”

After recalling his grandfather’s service in World War II, in the army of General George Patton, he noted that his grandfather was eligible for GI Bill education benefits and Federal Housing Administration loans to help purchase a home because of government policies favoring the discharged veterans. “There was that sense of sacred obligation that, frankly, we have lost during these last two wars,” Obama said. “I want to restore that.”

Obama went on to make his most direct statement of the campaign about expanding military service, declaring: “But it’s also important that a president speaks to military service as an obligation not just of some, but of many. You know, I traveled, obviously, a lot over the last 19 months. And if you go to small towns, throughout the Midwest or the Southwest or the South, every town has tons of young people who are serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. That’s not always the case in other parts of the country, in more urban centers. And I think it’s important for the president to say, this is an important obligation. If we are going into war, then all of us go, not just some.”

Taken in the context of a forum on national service, these comments have an unmistakable and ominous implication. Military service in the volunteer army is undertaken disproportionately by small-town and rural youth, for both economic and cultural reasons. It is far less common for middle class and working class youth in large cities, and especially their suburbs, to enlist in the military.

Obama holds out the prospect that, at least initially, his demand for wider participation in military service would consist of encouraging more enlistments in the volunteer army. When that failed, as it undoubtedly would, to produce sufficient cannon fodder for the next round of imperialist wars, the logical next step would be reactivation of the Selective Service System, which still exists, albeit in mothballed form.

In political terms, Obama’s appearance at Columbia was aimed at demonstrating to the American political establishment that he is prepared to reject any pressure from antiwar college students, who are a major component of his campaign’s personnel and volunteers. To that end, Obama not only called for expanded military service, he directly attacked the exclusion of the Reserve Officers Training Corps (ROTC) from many college campuses.

Stengel noted that Columbia had invited President Ahmadinejad of Iran to speak on the campus, but “haven’t invited ROTC to be on campus since 1969.”

Obama replied, “Yes, I think we’ve made a mistake on that. I recognize that there are students here who have differences in terms of military policy. But the notion that young people here at Columbia or anywhere, in any university, aren’t offered the choice, the option of participating in military service, I think is a mistake.”

The suggestion that young people at Columbia or anywhere else are denied “the option of participating in military service” is preposterous. In no country in the world is there so much media advertising and societal pressure—largely, at this point, economic—to impel young people into the military.

ROTC became a focus of hostility on hundreds of campuses during the Vietnam War era, and was in many cases banned as a student organization. These restrictions largely ended after 1975, but they were continued or reestablished on a handful of campuses after the Clinton administration established the “Don’t ask, don’t tell” policy, reaffirming the longtime Pentagon ban on gays and lesbians serving openly in the military. Such a ban violates the non-discrimination rules imposed by many campuses on corporate recruiters.

In response to a further question from Woodruff, Obama elaborated on his efforts to recruit young people to become participants in, and potential victims of, military violence. “Inspiring young people to serve is something that the president is uniquely positioned to do,” he said, adding that this could be for civilian positions that are adjuncts to US military operations overseas, such as the State Department, USAID or civil engineering.

Obama returned to the subject of widening participation in military service in words that were cautiously phrased but deeply reactionary. “I think there are special obligations during wartime,” he said. “We always have potential conflicts around the world, and our military has to remain strong and ready. And so I want to encourage military service, as well as other ways of serving, regardless of whether there’s war or not. But I do think that over the last several years, the fact that the burden has been shouldered by such a narrow group is a problem.”

In a closely balanced election, with the outcome still very much in doubt, Obama hopes to win the support of the real decision-makers—the topmost levels of the financial, political and military elite. Only a Democrat, he is suggesting, with the smokescreen of “equal sacrifice” and “fairness,” can provide the millions of recruits for the US military machine that will be required for wars against countries such as Iran, Russia and China.

While utilizing the occasional high-flown phrase to appeal to the idealism of youth and students, Obama is offering the ruling class a brutal bargain: Select me as president, and I will repay you in blood.

wsws.org/articles/2008/sep2008/obam-s13.shtml

[BuiltGypsy]

Yep. This will end well.

Canada's already reenforcing their borders, I can feel it in my hippy ancestor's bones.

[Wakey]

Your title is a bit off base..

Nice read I guess but the author makes some large stretches..

[ARozanski]

I'd support mandatory one-two year national service, with the caveat that you would have to volunteer for combat training, similar to what's in place today.

Having kids come out of high school and spending two years providing service to support the nation would strengthen national ties, improve knowledge and provide a sense of service.

Service could include administrative duties, labor, and maintenance.

[bush]

Originally Posted by ARozanski

I'd support mandatory one-two year national service, with the caveat that you would have to volunteer for combat training, similar to what's in place today.

Having kids come out of high school and spending two years providing service to support the nation would strengthen national ties, improve knowledge and provide a sense of service.

Service could include administrative duties, labor, and maintenance.

Not amused:

[BuiltGypsy]

Originally Posted by ARozanski

I'd support mandatory one-two year national service, with the caveat that you would have to volunteer for combat training, similar to what's in place today.

Having kids come out of high school and spending two years providing service to support the nation would strengthen national ties, improve knowledge and provide a sense of service.

Service could include administrative duties, labor, and maintenance.

The bill for the new G.I. Bill is supposed to cost $10 billion over 10 years. Put 2 years mandatory service in and that figure jumps up exponentially, and that would be with them only receiving partial G.I. Bill benefits. You can't even comprehend the costs if they get injured. So if people want it, they better damn well be prepared to pay for it.

[bumblebee]

As someone with first hand experience with the draft and draftees...Having any organization staffed with people who don't want to be there is set to fail. Forcing people into the military kills morale and creates a situation for sabotage.

[ARozanski]

Originally Posted by BuiltGypsy

The bill for the new G.I. Bill is supposed to cost $10 billion over 10 years. Put 2 years mandatory service in and that figure jumps up exponentially, and that would be with them only receiving partial G.I. Bill benefits. You can't even comprehend the costs if they get injured. So if people want it, they better damn well be prepared to pay for it.

Balance that against increased skills, experience, education and responsibility.

I am not advocating mandatory MILITARY service, but civil service, which may include military participation if desired. How much do we get charged for in terms of unemployment and imprisonment? Perhaps giving service through the age of 20 may help people stay out of trouble.

Besides, Starship Troopers rock.

[BuiltGypsy]

As having first hand experience with people who volunteered and no longer want to be in, and the amazing amount of shit they'll pull to get out, I'd really hate to imagine people who have been forced in from the start.

[BuiltGypsy]

Originally Posted by ARozanski

Perhaps giving service through the age of 20 may help people stay out of trouble.

You've never been in the military, have you?

[bush]

Originally Posted by ARozanski

Besides, Starship Troopers rock.

[BuiltGypsy]

For the record, the book may have rocked, but the movie sucked used duct taped hamsters.

[BigBadBoom]

Originally Posted by BuiltGypsy

For the record, the book may have rocked, but the movie sucked used duct taped hamsters.

Thank you

[bush]

I liked the movie for the tits and incredibly dry satire.



May I also add that I am also disappointed that Denise Richards didn't show her breasts in the movie. I waited two hours, no nips.

[BuiltGypsy]

Don't confuse an inability to act with dry satire. Jake Busey was the only good thing about that movie. And the bewbies. Not his.