Recruiters Sink to New Lows

During the Vietnam War, protesters burned draft cards, rallied on campuses and marched on Robert McNamara's Pentagon. Today, with the war in Iraq raging on and on, parents, teachers and other community leaders are spearheading a new antiwar effort, telling the military to keep their hands off the children. The Times' Bob Herbert put it well: "The parents of the kids being sought by recruiters to fight this unpopular war are creating a highly vocal and potentially very effective antiwar movement."

The debacle in Iraq has made recruiting an impossibly difficult job and recruiters are sinking to new lows in the face of growing pressure to fulfill monthly quotas as well as fierce opposition from parents who don't support the President's botched Iraq war mission.

While the stunning list of recruiting abuses has received some needed media attention, it's worth reviewing the extremes to which the military has gone to fill its ranks. In Houston, one recruiter warned a potential recruit that if he backed out of a meeting, "we'll have a warrant" for the potential recruit's arrest. In Colorado, a high school student, David McSwane, who wanted to see "how far the Army would go during a war to get one more soldier," told recruiters that he didn't finish high school and that he had a drug problem. "No problem," the recruiters responded. McSwane was told to create a diploma from scratch and to buy products at a store that would help him beat the drug test.

Recruiters have urged teens to lie to their parents and have ignored medical and police records of potential recruits to not compromise recruiting goals. In Ohio, two recruiters signed up a 21-one-year-old man with bipolar disorder who had just been released from a psychiatric ward. The violations, all told, forced the Army into halting all recruiting for a day last May so it could re-train its recruiters and remind them of the ethical considerations entailed in their jobs.

Despite this recent recruit-at-all-costs mentality, the Army has now failed to meet its monthly recruiting quotas for four months straight. (It's beginning to re-jigger its goals in mid-stream and even then it still can't meet its quotas.) There's even talk among retired military brass and other defense experts that the all-volunteer Army is stretched so thin in Iraq that it can't sustain the mission much longer.

Hence, recruiting violations in the Army have nearly doubled to 320 in 2004 from 199 in 1999, and as my colleague Ari Berman pointed out the Army has added 1,200 recruiters, "upped enlistment bonuses from $6,000 to $20,000 per recruit," and created 15-month enlistments as an alternative to the standard two-year enlistment period. The Army is also accepting into its ranks a greater number of high school dropouts and lower-scoring applicants as well.

"The problem is that no one wants to join," one recruiter recently told the Times. "We have to play fast and loose with the rules just to get by." The standards for those already in are also being adjusted: The Wall Street Journal recently reported on an internal army memo which said that battalion commanders could no longer kick out of the military enlistees who had abused drugs and alcohol, gotten pregnant or were unfit for duty.

If you want to understand just how dire the situation is, you need to know that the Army is busily exploiting a provision in the No Child Left Behind law that allows recruiters to go into public schools receiving federal funding, gain access to students' personal data and cultivate potential recruits with a virtually unfettered hand. According to an Army manual, savvy recruiters should eat in the school cafeteria, befriend administrators, bring coffee and donuts for teachers and buddy up to team captains and student body presidents to win the hearts and minds of other students.

Activists are holding rallies to raise awareness, urging families to tell schools to keep their personal data private. A student-led campaign at a high school in Montclair, New Jersey, convinced more than 80 percent of the student body to keep their private information hidden from recruiters.

Then there's NASCAR. Our US military is spending millions of dollars a year recruiting young men at NASCAR races. As the Air Force's superintendent of motorsports said (according to the AP, that's actually his job­superintendent of motorsports), NASCAR is the military's "target market." The Army alone is spending $16 million a year at NASCAR events. Each branch of the Armed Forces sponsors NASCAR race drivers and they set up recruiting booths outside of NASCAR events. This "belly-to-belly selling," the superintendent of motorsports explained, enables the military to woo potential recruits "face to face."

Recruiters are paying a high price, suffering from depression, headaches and stomach problems brought on by the tremendous pressure of having to find two new recruits per month to meet their quotas, avoid their commanders' wrath and fulfill their mission. One Texas recruiter told the New York Times' Damien Cave that he'd rather be fighting on the front lines of the war in Iraq than recruiting weary teenagers and coping with anxious parents in the states.

"The evidence is overwhelming that the Army is slowly being worn down by its commitment in Iraq," a Pentagon adviser and military analyst at the Lexington Institute told Newsday. The handwriting is on the wall: This is a failed war, and the American people are refusing in their wisdom to fight it.

Comments (29)

1. I find that hard to believe that they target kids at NASCAR shows. I don't know a thing about NASCAR but I would think that most of their fans are white, middle-age males sporting a belly not prime cannon fodder that the military is looking for. A recruiter has a job to do and I wish them a lot of luck. If Jesus W. & Company want to spread freedom around the world he would have to bring back the draft, no two ways about it. Take a look at all the bases the military is opening up around the world. They have to be staffed by someone.

   Posted by jazzfan at 06/21/2005 @ 10:41pm

2. JAZZFAM wrote:

   "Take a look at all the bases the military is opening up around the world. They have to be staffed by someone."

   No, they don't. If no staff shows up, the military will just have to close the bases. I think the self-styled "conservative" Grover Norquist calls this strategy "starving the beast." The bloated and irrelevant American military could really stand to go on a starvation diet for a while. Perhaps a few less "superintendants of motorsports" and fewer -- if any -- personal jumbo jets for the big brass would in time help the American military get down to fighting trim.

   I say do what Alexander Hamilton said to do whenever the standing military starts to get out of control. Just don't fund them more than they really need; and they don't nearly need the massive and wasteful funding we lavish on them now. They can't even find an accountant to keep track of all the corruption.

   Posted by mrmurry at 06/21/2005 @ 11:40pm

3. Gosh, it sure would be nice if this new anti-war sentiment was really the beginning of the end. We have certainly had enough.

   But maybe this is the end of the beginning. Remember we are dealing with psychopaths, there is no telling what they might try to get away with.

   Another 9/11 type event would be all too convenient right now - might even tip the scales toward martial law (if that's possible with the current military.)

   Whatever the case, it's critical that the momentum of the past week doesn't fade. The fire needs stoking. What can we do?

   Posted by rob.olywa at 06/22/2005 @ 04:44am

4. I've started to use this little point:

   In November 2004, 55 million people expressed their support for George Bush's war in Iraq.

   If you account for age and "disability", leave about a third of those people as capable of donning a uniform and joining the battle. That would leave about 18 million.

   If you're one of those absolutely opposed to women serving in the military, take half that number, leaving 9 million men.

   So, we're talking approximately 9 (or 18) million people who are capable of filling the recruiters' quotas overwhelmingly.

   Where are they? They're hiding, saying "Not me! Let someone else fight the war that I support!"

   Posted by Deadly Ernest at 06/22/2005 @ 10:49am

5. Let's face it: it's time we begin to use the same sort of absurd, over-simplified logic conservatives use. Why not conscript every man and women (or their children) that voted for our esteemed president's re-election, has ever (seriously) ordered Freedom Fries, and believes this presidency/war is ordained by the Almighty. Afterall, these people are the self-proclaimed protectors of our way of life - they've already saved us from the threats of same-sex marriage - shall they not protect us in every respect?

   Posted by redwillow at 06/22/2005 @ 1:12pm

6. Parents interested in fighting back and who wish to keep recruiters away from their schoolchildren should check out this site:

   http://www.leavemychildalone.org/

   Posted by axshinjaxn at 06/22/2005 @ 1:19pm

7. I read Katrina article and could you please put me in touch with groups against militarism in our schools.I am a Vietnam Vet and A Gulf War I VetI would like to offer my services as a speaker in the schools to counter the lies and garbage recruiters are telling our youth about the military and war.I live in California.

   Thank You Stephen Eddy Email:abemartinali@verizon.net

   Posted by Seddy at 06/22/2005 @ 5:04pm

8. Interesting that the No Child Left Behind act was conceived and implimented during the height of the 9/11 hysteria. Recruitment stations were overwhelmed by angry young men and women eager for payback. Why then this hidden clause permitting the relaese of personal information about our 16-18 year old kids?

   Posted by McGuire57 at 06/23/2005 @ 06:32am

9. For another chilling recruitment story, check out today's (6-23) Washington Post cover article, "Pentagon Creating Student Databases" by Jonathan Krim. As Krim reports, "The Defense Department began working yesterday with a private marketing firm to create a database of high school students ages 16 to 18 and all college students to help the military identify potential recruits in a time of dwindling enlistment in some branches." (My colleague Patrick will be posting link to this story in next comment.) katrina

   Posted by Katrina vanden H at 06/23/2005 @ 11:00am

10. Please click here [washingtonpost.com] for the Washington Post article.

    Posted by pmmulvaney at 06/23/2005 @ 11:06am

11. Our problem is we look to others for the solution when it will only begin and end with ourselves. I don't want to read how Americans are concerned about this war, this government and the faceless hypocrites who control us, I want to read about what YOU'RE doing about getting our respect back throughout the world. I am a strong opponent of this war and I believe it is due to Israel and jewish interests' hold over this country. We're over there to protect their interests because their interests have taken precedence over America's interests, and I simply don't like what being done over in Iraq in our name. Our country has been hijacked to become equated throughout the world as the worst of terrorist organizations. I don't need to tell you all we're hated and despised for it. The worst thing is, one look at Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, Wolfowtz, et al shows me how America has become the world 's benchmark for lies and deceipt. But what could I do? Recently learning that Starbucks was a major contributor to Israel's economy and that I and my buddies on our friday night out would end up at Starbucks just to mellow down, got me thinking about which person died that night with the money my coffee paid for. So last friday when we went into Starbucks, I refused to order anything. I told my buddies why and they thought it was the booze. Well, after a few weeks of this stand, my buddies saw my conviction and because they thought more of me than Israel and Starbucks for that matter, the also joined in the boycott. We don't go to Starbucks any more and will stay away just as long as their dollars (our dollars) are not fed to a country that cares nothing for America except what it can con us for. I now am boycotting the products of any company that contributes to Israel or the war in Iraq. Small maybe, insignificant you may say but what you do may be the straw that breaks the camel's back. And before anyone out there calls my patriotism into question, just be aware that I'm doing this becuase I love what this country was and stood for.

    Posted by Harry Goto at 06/23/2005 @ 11:11am

12. thanks to Katrina and the rest of you for providing my daily dose of humor. Thankfully, most Americans do not feel like you all do and remain committed to battling evil the only way it can be fought---with force..As to recruitment, the liberal educators and wimped out families are to blame for raising generations of wimps, cowards, and gray shaded people (who never see black and white but only shades of gray)that lack the sense of honor, patriotism, and sense of grateful duty for living in the greatest country mankind has ever known.

    And yes to the question that will come, I did serve (1967-1970) was injured (purple heart) and would gladly serve again if I wasn't currently disabled..Also 2 of my sons recently completed duty in the Marines including in Iraq where they served proudly

    Posted by love liberty at 06/23/2005 @ 12:24pm

13. I applaud all parents, teachers, veterans, and others for refusing to participate in Buchco's illegal war. It can only end in disaster and has in the mean time destroyed America's reputation and the reputations of all our fine soldiers. Let's continue to take a page from the Republican Playbook and continue to "starve the beast" so that we may finally get out of Iraq. (And, yes, I know the "starve the beast" theory refers to bankrupting the country so that the Republicans can dismantle all our social programs that, in part, were only able to be established by TRUE patriots and not the pseudo-patriotic, evangelical, "Our God or No God" fools in the Republican Party.) We must not continue to participate, or allow our children to participate, in this debacle of historic proportion. I can only hope that future generations will look back at what happened to this country UNDER REPUBLICAN RULE, recognize the heartbreakingly stupid course upon which these "rulers" set this country and come to realize that there is no such thing as a "conservative party" in America, only zealots pretending to be conservative.

    Posted by Bill Arnett at 06/23/2005 @ 12:28pm

14. Give me an S! Give me a T! Give me an A!...R...V...E the BEAST!

    STARVE THE BEAST

    STARVE THE BEAST

    YAY - STARVE THE BEAST!

    Posted by rob.olywa at 06/23/2005 @ 1:09pm

15. It's pretty pathetic to see all the comments supporting the collapse of the military. What do you simpletons think will happen when the nation runs out of recruits? This is our freedom and livelihood at stake, unfortunately you are too short-sighted to see it. I served for six years in the Navy so I've done my duty for the country, what have you done?

    Posted by brlove0915 at 06/23/2005 @ 5:12pm

16. The dirty little secret in all this is that if recruiters fail to make their goals for successive months, they fill the quota with themselves. The recruiter gets sent back to Iraq! They would do ANYTHING to avoid that, so they play loose with the facts to avoid more Iraq duty themselves.

    Posted by redstater at 06/23/2005 @ 5:16pm

17. Harry Goto said: I am a strong opponent of this war and I believe it is due to Israel and jewish interests' hold over this country.

    The only reason the US has an "interest" in Israel is because it provides a foothold in the Middle East and a foothold on the oil located therein. Don't try to place the blame on this war on Jews/Israel. The war on Iraq has nothing to do with Israel in actuality. It has to do with oil, Bush's oil friends, and the tons of money to begot from controlling the oil in Iraq.

    BRLOVE0915 said: I served for six years in the Navy so I've done my duty for the country, what have you done?

    Maybe this is the same question we should be asking the politicians who voted for the war. Maybe we should be asking Bush to send his children to war. If they're not willing to die for the war on terrorism in Iraq and aren't willing to send their own children, then why should the average American be expected to do the same. Good for you for standing up for what you believe in by serving in the Navy, but maybe you should expect the same from the politicians (and their children) representing you.

    Posted by sarita8199 at 06/23/2005 @ 5:53pm

18. BRLOVE0915, how short-sighted of you to blame the messenger. The people who are supporting the collapse of the military are currently residing in the White House. I'm no expert, but I've been predicting the 'destruction' of the National Guard for two years now. This is a national tragedy that has only one person to blame... George W. Bush. Until people like you start figuring this out, no offense, we will keep sinking down a hole that will be very difficult to get out of. The National Guard is supposed to be in reserve for a true national or state emergency. This war is the farthest from a national emergency that one can possibly imagine for many many obvious reasons. Please channel your, no doubt, sincere patriotism in the right direction.

    Posted by D1od1o at 06/23/2005 @ 10:33pm

19. JAZZFAM wrote: "Take a look at all the bases the military is opening up around the world. They have to be staffed by someone."

    MRMURRY wrote: "No, they don't."

    Well, yes they do, but by private contractors -- in other words, mercenaries. They won't do a good job, though, they never do. Read Machiavelli. Mercenaries, he said, not having a personal stake beyond the monetary, or a cause "greater than themselves," are not likely to risk their lives when the going get's tough. They just get going.

    Posted by PeterGrfx at 06/24/2005 @ 02:38am

20. QUOTE It's pretty pathetic to see all the comments supporting the collapse of the military. What do you simpletons think will happen when the nation runs out of recruits? This is our freedom and livelihood at stake... (posted by BRLOVE) END QUOTE

    As a combat veteran of Iraq and soldier for nearly 20 years, I couldn't disagree with you more. The purpose of the military is to "defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies both foreign and domestic and to obey the orders of the President of the United States" to achieving that purpose.

    As time goes on, those who plunged us recklessly into this war have failed to prove that this war was necessary to our common defense. Citing lofty goals of establishing democracy, ridding the world of evil and etc. does not equal defending our Constitution, indeed it may translate to endangering it further.

    Parents who provide the cannon fodder to enable reckless foreign policy such as Iraq are saying "not my kids" and this is an effective strategy. If anyone is guilty of weakening our defense however, it is not the parents. Rather it is the politicians and bureaucrats and advisors who are using the military to pursue a reckless foreign policy.

    And being a former service member, let me invite you to return to active duty to put your money where your mouth is. Your past service does not exempt you or excuse you so long as you choose to beat the war drum, you should be willing to fight in that war as well. Time to put up or shut up and I suspect you will cower at home while chastising others for not sending their precious children to die for your un-Constitutional ideals.

    Posted by danboone at 06/24/2005 @ 07:34am

21. Pardon me, DANBOONE but that's a lot of venom to spew on me for defending this country and what I believe in. I see only a personal attack on me. I don't think anyone should send their children to die, but I believe that the children should be encourage to defend the nation and make the choice themselves. I fail to see how a veteran of the military could be wishing for its failure. Six years in the service is a far cry from "cowering."

    Posted by brlove0915 at 06/24/2005 @ 11:47am

22. Hmmm. Personally, the attention that the Army is getting for its recruiters' behavior and the whole "exploit" of the No Child Left Behind Act, strikes me as incredibly innocent.

    I have two enlistments under my own belt and the year 2003 was utterly wasted at a recruiting station for one of the services. In the context of my station, the stations of the other services in our city, and the overall district that I was part of, I can speak with authority as an eye-witness, an unwilling confidante, and audience to hundreds of "recruiting stories."

    The percentage of recruiters for ANY service that do NOT on a ROUTINE basis bend, flex, side-step or ignore basic military policy is dishearteningly small. There are those who steadfastly "tell it like it is" and I respect them more than I can easily explain; sticking to the moral high ground despite the command's INTENSE pressure to make your goal is worthy of praise. But anyone that thinks this stuff is new or brought on by the war? Ha. You live in a fantasy of your own imagining.

    As to the so-called exploiting of the NCLBA, you MUST be joking. THAT WAS THE ENTIRE PURPOSE OF THAT SECTION OF THE LAW. It's not an exploit, Mr. and Mrs. America -- it's a PLAN. It goes like this: The States have control over their school systems and we don't like that, so to get around that pesky Constitutional separation of State and Federal powers, we'll just make the schools financially dependent upon the Federal government and then control them -- or they lose the money. Simple. Easy. America bought it hook, line, and recruiter.

    If you think this is bad, then you should wake up to the concept that this misbehavior has been occuring in every city, large and small, in every service for years. Calling these "isolated incidents" of desperate individuals is about as foolish and incomprehensible as calling our invasion a "war."

    Posted by Hojiman at 06/24/2005 @ 4:45pm

23. Whoops almost forgot one:

    "The National Guard is supposed to be in reserve for a true national or state emergency. This war is the farthest from a national emergency that one can possibly imagine for many many obvious reasons." --- D10D10

    Very true on both counts EXCEPT if you're a member of Congress; they have the power to re-assert the proper usage of the Guard but lack the desire to do so.

    Apparently many people don't realize that the National Guard reports to their State's Governor and the Coast Guard reports to the Dept. of Homeland Security (previously it was the Dept. of Transportation). NEITHER ONE is under the control and direction of the War Dept. --- er, I mean the Dept. of Defense --- except in times of war or national emergency.

    While Congress never declared war on anyone (how could they? there is no specific political body upon which to declare war.), the President was able to assume numerous Emergency powers with this declaration on Sept. 14, 2001, including control of all Guard units and Reserve forces:

    http://www.defenselink.mil/ra/mobil/pdf/proclamation.pdf

    That was ALMOST FOUR YEARS AGO and Congress hasn't bothered to take those powers back from the President. So, what sort of emergency are we in exactly, four years later, except the one looming as the Constitution's delicate balance of authority against accountability is eroded line by line?

    Posted by Hojiman at 06/24/2005 @ 5:21pm

24. An off-the-top critique of "Victory and Recruitment": my own commentary is enclosed in "I have an impression that certain "leftists" -- whatever he means by the term -- played key roles as catalysts and by providing skilled support services when such were not abundant. I also have the impression that the SNCC leadership included a number of persons of "left" bkgrnd, incl one S. Carmichael? But I differ mainly re emphasis, balance.Well, this para is pretty shaky. Overstated for effect maybe? A lot of conflation going on here. again, what's a "leftist"? Tom Hayden?Yes.What, is he praising the Weather Underground as more realistic than the weenie Oakland Panthers?He won't get any argument out of me -- I stopt reading Z a long time ago. "Chumpsky Delendi Est";)How indeed? This wd have been a gd pt to mention ABB, Operation Trash Nader, & the D-Mockrat Mythmaking Machine. Among other causal factors which might have been specified but weren't.What about the effort to impeach? I agree with him in general, but A) a sense that Bush has lost crebidility among a large share of the citizenry will -- I believe has -- had a negative effect on efforts to reach recruiting goals. Forgot Pt B. ?Rarely has "fighting" with fists or weapons ever been an effective mode of political activity in the US. He sounds like he's reluctant to alienate the anarchist fringe in their black clothes. ??THis is pretty good. I myself see value in large scale marches and rallies, which is why the powers that be try so hard to limit media coverage of same & why law enforcement tries so hard to minimize turnout estimates:) The Rich do not like to see crowds in the streets or public squares -- the ancient fear of "the mob", of a bunch of irate peasants waving torches and farm implements on their way up to the castle. They are likewise unenthusiastic at the prospect of large numbers of impressionable youth being exposed to the words of "dangerous leftist agitators". Going to the big marches in SF gives me a feeling of "recharging my batteries"; it also gave me a series of opportunities to expose --via the Picket Sign medium -- large numbers of activists to some of the ideas the writer articulates in eloquent detail. If the process had ended there, it would have been little more than an energy drain cum therapy/masturbation. But when I see a slogan like "No Grunts, No War" echoed in this writer's "no troops, no war", I'm not convinced my 2002/2003 signmaking & carrying was entirely futile.Here's where it gets good! Yes! Right On, Ride On, Note a Benny!:)Yes -- this is what we usta call "The Weakest Link In The Imperialist Chain". Mao advised emulators to observe the ancient principle of Concentration of Forces: "Concentrate a Superior Force at the Enemy's Weakest Point and Force a Breakthrough".Yes yes, of course. You can say that again! so I will...I'd like to find a way to reach fighting age computer users. I try to send stuff like this to Left Hook, but...??Well, again I'd say he's overlooking some aspects. But his next para is absolutely on the mark:Took the words right out my mouf. Or maybe we need to ask "how can we get them to take advantage of the opening right in front of them"? It may look "broadbased" on paper up in Canada -- but a closer look will reveal the extent to which this is a very narrow group of ideologically focussed outfits, with some "broader" sounding grps included for window dressing. His exclu focus on ANSWER while giving UFPJ a free pass arouses my suspicions. But I'm with him 100% on RecruitmentThere is certainly truth in this, but there are other considerations. I cannot accept anyone saying that insisting on the Palestinian Right Of Return is meaningless.But is the goal to "score its first... victory in... decades"? There are reasons, to me valid reasons, why ANSWER's core org's focus on trying to "create a base" among certain demographic sectors. Which have to do with finding longterm allies who will not waver and vanish like the student-based anti-Vietnam War movements, or the early 2002 upsurge. Alas I have to part company with them w regard to certain other q's. but I'm in agreement on that much.

    THis is because my focus is not on stopping this one war out of the many being waged right now, or out of the continuous series of military actions that have ben going on constantly since somebody first coined the phrase Manifest Destiny and before. The goal is to put a permanent stop to the whole swindle, to the overall process. Which requires the total uprooting of the entire "American Ideology" (as those old lefties Karl & Fred might have called it:). Esp. the "The South Shall Rise Again" and the Zionist Consensus currents. Special attention needs to be paid to the phenomenon of Christinane Zionism of course, which links the others in a fascistoid devil's brew.The message of the currently active antirecruiting movement is very much based on appeals to morality and religious values.No no no. Many many 17 & 18 yr olds from workingclass or poor class bkgrnds have no idea at all what is going on in the world. Just the suggestion that the war is wrong or that the military is basically engaged in criminality will IMHO cause many to hesitate, often to seek a "second opinion" or two. I'm convinced that it is v. important to keep repeating the idea "this war is bullshit", Geo Bush is not only a vicious KKK bastard, he's full of shit/a ballfaced liar too, everything TV News tells you is bs, etc etc. Just plant a seed of doubt, just provide a peg for the grunts to hang their misgivings on, just a means to organize their fragmentary thoughts...He seems to be conflating the povertydraft-susceptible demographic with the hardcore religious right. The recruiter's target demographic is not monolithic even in the "red states", while prospects of counter-recruiting success are probably better in "blue" states like N. Calif., NY or MA, or in "blue" areas within Red states.Well, this is clever -- but to me it starts to smack of Coldwar Liberal/AFLCIA piecard logic, aka the Daniel in the Lions Den Adjustment: let's address ourselves to The Rulers -- all those ignorant peasants are a waste of time.No mention of Halliburton or Kellogg Brown & Root -- or Lehman Brother John F...OOPS! Hold Everthang!!!

    The US got out of Vietnam -- but was that "the only important thing"?

    Nonono: The MOST important thing is the delegitimization of the current Imperialist regime (and I don't mean the Bush Admin) in the eyes of its main base of social support, the general American public. In all its paradoxical diversity.

    The "only thing" is getting these bastards off EVERYBODY'S backs.

    And this means establishing just what role the "US Jewish Community" (sic) does or does not play in determining US foreign & military policies, specifically the invasion of Iraq & the rest of the manuevering in the M-E. There is a school of thought which sees the influence of the Likud/AIPAC axis of evil as extending into the "progressive" wing of the Demo party and beyond into our "antiwar movement" itself. I myself see this hypothesis as one worthy of investigation. If it is false, I want to see it falsified via a method that at least approaches scientific standards. Forget the poohpooh response, the smears of "antiSemite", of "self-hating Jew". Who does Mitchell Plitnick think he's kidding, when if you have a TV set a 5000 lb gorilla is loose in your livingroom every night at 5 & 11:)Okay, I don't 100% buy the "nothing else" part, since if a substantial portion of the US public doesn't learn anything from the experience -- as they failed to from Vietnam -- we'll all be condemned to repeating the same trip twenty or thirty years from now. Or sooner.

    But he's right: Counter Recruitment is the top priority, the number one focus. It weakens the Imperial State Apparatus, which gives everybody a better chance.

    Everybody who considers themselves "progressive" or "left" or just a decent human being needs to spend SOME time engaging in and supporting Anti Recruitment efforts. A lot of academic, legal system & journalism focussed activists will benefit enormously from actual f2f contact with potential and recent recruits and their families. Movement "newbies", newly mobilized students, 911-truthies and others need to consider making Counter Recruiting the primary focus of their activist efforts.

    To me, GI Counseling, maintenance of the New Underground Railroad, the launching of GI coffeehouses near DOD facilities -- all these are part of the same effort, the same strategy: No Troops No War. No supply of Grunts, no warmachine.

    Simple, isn't it:)>>>>>>>>>>>>> Michael Neumann is a professor of philosophy at Trent University in Ontario, Canada. Professor Neumann's views are not to be taken as those of his university. His book What's Left: Radical Politics and the Radical Psyche has just been republished by Broadview Press. He contributed the essay, "What is Anti-Semitism", to CounterPunch's book, The Politics of Anti-Semitism. In September 2005, CounterPunch/AK Press will publish Neumann's new book, The Case Against Israel. He can be reached at: mneumann@trentu.ca.

    "cuibono" is a Senile Citizen & part-time crackpot member of Vets for Peace in Sactomato. He can't be reached -- I've tried:)

    Posted by cuibono at 06/24/2005 @ 9:52pm

25. Don't anybody get too optimistic about world peace on account of domestic US recruiting failures just yet. Sources of new recruits are now international, and you only have to check out the youth in places like the ex-Soviet republic of Ukraine -- recently the recipient of a pre-packaged pro-Western "revolution" -- to see where things are headed. Ukraine is a country of about 48 million, and its newly installed pro-US puppet government is heavily indebted to Uncle Sam and NATO countries for paying the bill for the Orange Revolution. All you have to do is go into any "Internet cafe" in the middle of a school day in a place like Kiev (a city of c. 3.5 million plus) and you will see legions of kids glued to the monitors, playing ultra-violent 3D interactive video games. This is the training, and these are the new recruits. The idea is to use the millions of drugged out, disaffected youth in the "free" countries of the ex-Socialist bloc (where the suicide rate is astronomical, particularly among adolescents, who have nothing to lose by going to Baghdad) for new US-launched wars for freedom. And I say to myself: what a wonderful world.

    Posted by Nikron99 at 06/24/2005 @ 10:08pm

26. Sarita8199 Is your head in the sand or what! You suffering from the 'Elephant in the Living Room' syndrome? Who do you think is playing Bush for the dope he is? I expect you'll next be claiming the Zeocons surrounding him are not jewish or openly support Israel and what it's doing in Palestine. Who do you think controls the oil futures market? Yeah the one in NYC. Who depends on oil transactions being done in US dollars as opposed to other currencies? Who's currently demothballing a pipeline to send oil directly from Iraq to Haifa? You sound like Michael Moore and his infantile documentary attacking Bush as the mastermind when any observation of the man shows him to be intellectually challenged at best and physotic at worst. How you can you talk about the Bush interests without mentioning the Judeo Zionist connections in the same sentence is beyond me. What scares me is these people now show no fear at being exposed such is the way they have this country locked down, and comments from people as yourself only give them greater confidence to continue the carnage while ensuring villification of this country. Of further concern is the evidence of Israeli involvement in black ops within Iraq...pitting Iraqis against Iraqis by staging suicide attacks and car bombings which also target our own military. Those who are trampling over our great constitution by involving us in these middle eastern fiascos is by and large Judeo/Zionist and care only for Israel's survival. I reiterate, I won't be changing my stance about patronizing businesses that support this war or aid the illegal state of Israel.

    Posted by Harry Goto at 06/25/2005 @ 10:42am

27. Sarita8199, Further to my last post here's a link that demonstrates you are misled. It includes several in-print references. http://home.ddc.net/ygg/rj/rj-26.htm

    Posted by Harry Goto at 06/26/2005 @ 04:13am

28. Hi Ms. Vanden Heuvel, Why did you only tell a small part of the story here? I'm confused as to your motives. You're a journalist and a very accomplished human being- Don't you think someone with your position and credentials has the ethical responsibility to present all the facts in an article about such an important issue as the manpower strength of our armed forces? Or is your true aim to use your considerable influence and visibility in brainwashing your readers with conclusions drawn with missing facts and slanted realities? I'd really like to get an answer from you. Thanks!

    Some stuff to factor into the article's implications: VERIFIED STATISTICS FOR US ARMY RECRUITING FROM 1/01/04-9/27/04 2004 For the fifth year in a row, the U.S. Army Recruiting Command hit its fiscal year active-duty and Reserve recruiting goals. As of Sept. 27 (2004), the command brought in 77,587 active Army recruits against a Department of the Army mission of 77,000, and 21,278 Reserve recruits against a 21,000 requirement.

    320 Reported recruting violations (according to the posted article) in all of 2004 against a pool of 98,865 toal recruits

    Let's see, under a statistical maximum (according to an analysis of statistics reported in the article) of 1,799 reported recruiting violations in the 6 year period of 1999-2004 and a figure of approximately 500,000 recruits during the same period...

    Can't we all just get along with the little mathmeticians inside of each an every one of us?

    PEACE, Todd Shea

    Posted by toddshea at 06/28/2005 @ 05:54am

29. Dear Readers, Here's a few more things to keep in mind when making a determination about whether or not recent recruiting indicators point toward a genuine military readiness crisis in the near future (You won't see this information provided by sources pushing a left wing political agenda):

    1) Individuals who sign up for military service in the delayed entry program in the months prior to high school graduation are not counted as recruits until they report for duty, so spring stats are never going to be as high as summer stats.

    2) Army retention rates are higher than expected, which helps make up for lower recruiting numbers. Also, every branch of service met or exceeded its retention goals.

    3) The Air Force, Navy and Marines have met or exceeded their recruiting projections and are expected to easily meet their fiscal 2005 recruiting goals.

    4) The Air Force and the Navy decreased the number of recruits they are enlisting this year. Both are actually over their congressionally mandated active duty end strength, and must decrease in size by the end of the fiscal year.

    5) The Army reserve (82% of their goal), Marine Reserve (88% of their goal) and Navy reserve (94% of their goal) were short of their May recruiting goals, but these verified numbers hardly show the sky is falling.

    Posted by toddshea at 06/28/2005 @ 06:03am