McCain: World War III Would Justify Draft

John McCain said last night during a campaign tele-conference that he would bring back a military draft in the United States only in the case of a 'World War III' scenario.

Reuters reported:

Many Americans are fearful the U.S. government will be forced to reinstitute the draft given the prolonged Iraq and Afghanistan wars.

Asked about that possibility by a potential voter in Florida during a telephone "town hall meeting," McCain said: "I don't know what would make a draft happen unless we were in an all-out World War III." ...

McCain, a Vietnam veteran, said the draft during that conflict weighed most heavily on lower-income Americans, and that this should not be repeated.

But McCain may be more open to the draft than it seems. During a July 2006 interview on CNN, McCain was asked about the following statement by Newt Gingrich: "We're in the early stages of what I would describes as the Third World War and, frankly, our bureaucracies aren't responding fast enough." Asked whether he agreed, McCain said:

"I do to some extent. I think it's important to recognize that we have terrorist organizations which -- who are dangerous by themselves, are now being supported by radical Islamic governments, i.e., the Iranians, which makes them incredibly more dangerous because they are trained, equipped, motivated and assisted in every way by the Iranians."

Also, as ThinkProgress noted, "Last October, President Bush himself warned of a coming 'World War III' with Iran. 'I've told people that if you're interested in avoiding World War III,' said the President. 'It seems like you ought to be interested in preventing them from have the knowledge necessary to make a nuclear weapon.'"

Comments

[Donnat]

who's going to be involved in this 'world war' virtually ever other country on the planet has told us to suck wind in Iraq.

Word to McCain - they were called world wars because there were more than 2 countries involved.

[Donnat]

If it's worth having a draft why is it not worth body armor, working equipment, safe electrical wiring, drinkable water, adequate medical benefits for the injured, college education benefits and survivor benefits?

[DMW1]

I agree. Too bad McCain doesn't:
http://www.stopthinkvote.com/votes.html

[ParanoidPollyanna]

If Vietnam weighed most heavily on the lower-income Americans, McCain, what about the current Wars in Iraq & Afghanistan? Aren't these Wars weighing most heavily on lower-income Americans, too? In fact, I'd say today's TROOPS seem to be having a HARDER time, case in point, the News Story I saw on T.V. NBC News w/ Brian Williams, about American Soldiers not just fighting their asses off in desert Hellholes in Arabia, but at same time facing LOSING THEIR HOMES to the Sub-Prime Mortgage meltdown. They talked to one Realtor at one Military Base here in U.S.A., & she said once you got INSIDE the Gates you can immediately see how BAD it is --- house after house with "FORECLOSED" signs on them.
IMAGINE being in Iraq, fighting for dummies who don't give a damn about you or your loved ones, RICH, smug, McMansion dwellers, like BEN STEIN, who wrote he was "lazily swimming in his Pool at Midnight gazing at the Stars" --- his Wife upstairs drinking. Ben Stein was grateful to the "19-yr. old Grunts" who make it possible for RICH F*CKS like him to "LIVE LIKE KINGS AND MAHARAHJAHS" !!
Another TV News report showed how the number of BILLIONAIRES has skyrocketed during the BUSH REGIME . Gilded Age, priviledged few living like ROYALTY... Hmmm. They should remember what happened in FRANCE -- VIVA LA REVOLUCION!

[deminmo]

I watched a program about the increase in billionaires
over the last 4 years, especially in Hedge Fund managers.
That is what comes out of Disaster Capitalism, and that's
why we face this "service act" and a war in Iran. It simply
eliminates the middle class and makes the super rich
richer. Marie Antoinettes out there, they better beware,
I agree Paranoid.

[deminmo]

And how much more of a smoking gun can anyone
ask for? Maybe like a lot of bloggers have suggested,
a draft would not be a bad thing. After all, people who
have heartily supported occupying Iraq, would see their
kids and grandkids drafted. I would also see my neices
and nephew drafted. What percentage of Senators and
Representatives and Washington "big-wigs" would
pull strings for theirs is unknown.
And since Mullen left on Tuesday for Israel, who knows
a draft could become reality by the end of 2008.

[gbht12]

If you are counting on MY KIDS JOHN MCCAIN YOU CAN FORGET ABOUT IT!! NO FREAKING WAY

[miladyfair]

AMEN!

[jojojo]

He's gonna require 18-yr-old women to register for a draft whether it's imposed ot not , right? Our young men currently must register, so women of course should right now be required to register as well, don't you all agree?

[DMW1]

There is active legislation right now concerning reinstating the draft and it covers ALL PERSONS between 18 and 42:

http://www.stopthinkvote.com/facts/militaryfacts.html

It's halfway down the page under the heading "2007 Draft Reinstatement Bill H.R. 393 Referred To Subcommittee On Military Personnel"

[deminmo]

DMW1,
I emailed my Representative because he was on two of the
committees listed, to ask if this is now out of committee. We
really need to know the status of the resolution.

[transendentilist]

"........a coming WWIII with Iran?????" World war on one tiny little country in the mid-east??? This is just pathetic.
Iran had trouble with Iraq, a pissant little country with antiquated weapons. And it's going to take an "allied force," and a draft to oppose????
America, a ONCE great and honorable nation.

[deminmo]

When bombs stop dropping on Iran, Russia and China will
decide whether to retailate. At this point it's likely to become
a WORLD War. Everyone friendly to the US will want protection
and if they can, will join in. And everyone friendly to Iran will
be PO'd that the oil is cut off. Americans will feel the pinch within
48 hours. We think prices are high now, ya ain't seen nothin' yet!

[BevH]

The only thing is, I sincerely believe that there won't be too much need for a military draft - most of the war will be fought by unmanned missiles carrying real big bombs!!!!

[truthynesslover]

And after the bombing stops what happens if Iran decides to blow up its oil piplines like saddam did after the first gulf war.Just to keep us from having it and to destroy our economy.

[shelobo]

Young men by law have to register with the Selective Service ,even if they are illegal immigrants ,if they live in this country they are required by law to register .If there was never a plan to bring the draft back ,why keep the registration process on the law books ?According to the NEWER draft laws ,Under the new draft (selective Service )law, a college student could have his induction postponed only until the end of the current semester. A senior could be postponed until the end of the full academic year. If a draft were held today ,it would be in the form of a lottery system under which a man would spend only one year in first priority for the draft—either the calendar year he turned 20 or the year his deferment ended, whichever came first.CONG­RESS is the only goverment body that can reinstate the draft,Charles Rangel introduced a bill that would reinstate the draft,back in 2006 http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=h109-4752 .Americans rejected it.Bush rejected the reinstatement of a draft saying it was not good policy ,McCain is only saying what he is,to sway Americans into THINKING he is NOT a McBush.To get elected McCain HAS to go against all of Bush's policies ,which he will untill he is elected.

[jojojo]

...and why are only the young men required to register???

[miladyfair]

Because I don't think women are allowed to be on the front lines, unless they have changed that.

[shamaniceconomist]

When the draft was created the more conservative members of Congress were using the bill and the special status it gave men as a way to justify discrimination against women.

[DMW1]

Active legislation:
http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=h110-393

[DofG]

It would be nice if we could have a "The Day The Earth Stood Still" moment so those people, alla John McCain, who think war is noble can get on the clue bus!

[timm553]

I'd rather see them get on the front lines.

[gadfly55]

Dr. Strangelove wherefor art thou? Amerika persists in the promotion of fear amongst its populace, rather than employing its great ingenuity and enterprise to lift the peoples without the most meagre of means to survive. Yet it is these very people with the most rudimentary arms and training who oppose them in every quarter where they attempt to impose their will. Consequently, great riches flow into the pockets of the very few from the public purse, whether by contract and contacts secured through political association. This man McCain will continue this comfortable arrangement of course, yet there are multitudes who are indifferent to this corruption. Is there really a contest, or is the American public either brain dead or certifiable?

[TrueIndy08]

a draft for WW III???

Well, since he plans on starting WW III, I guess its safe to say that a draft will be implemented should he get into office...

for the sake of our kids and our country, do not vote for this man....

he is 100 times more dangerous than W could ever be!!! He wants to avenge what happened in Vietnam, and he will gladly sacrifice your kids to try and do it!

[shelobo]

McCain loves Vietnam NOW,mainly because Cindy does so much 'charity 'work there.The president no longer has the SOLE POWER to declare a war on anyone,that is why Congress and the American people were LIED to ,and gave false inteligence information so we could invade Iraq .Wars mean PROFIT for huge private companies ,as we have seen with the Haliburton and Blackwater scandals.N­ot to mention the outsourceing of many USA military contracts and then scandals such as the Watec Inc.mess involving Richard E. Long and his Wife Debra L. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/13/us/13fraud.html?fta=yfta=y ,in plain simple english ,WARS =PROFIT for PRIVATE OWNED military based products and services..

[researcher]

bring on the draft it will awaken the college students from thier slumber like it did in 1968.

americans dont care how many iraqis we kill

we killed one million vietnamese in that other illegal war and it was the draft that upset the young not the vietnamese we killed then we called our troops war heros for bombing them. ie mc war

only a draft will stop this war for oil

with high gas prices americans will ok the bombing of iran

[TrueIndy08]

I sure won't, I can see the retaliatio­n... and it won't be pretty

[shelobo]

Concerning your comment "only a draft will stop this war for oil" a draft will HELP win this war for Oil at a greater cost than 150 dollars a barrel ! Our military is shrinking ,because there are not enough voluntary military members.OV­ER FOUR THOUSAND members of our military being killed in Iraq does not justify the fact that we should never have invaded Iraq in the first place.We now know that Iraq had nothing to do with 911,and IF Bush would have done things right in the beginning,he might have gotten Suddam Hussien ,but he chose to feed this country LIES ,just to go to war ! Now Bush and McCain say they will not surrender unless Iraq is able to defend itself ! BTW Bush denies that this war has anything to do with oil .The civilian death death toll is even higher ,some think around 80 thousand ,but the the New England Journal of Medicine in January 2008, said that about 151,000 civilians died between March 2003 and June 2006.These deaths are NOT justified IF this war is over Oil.

[abeattie]

The millitary has been growing. We're not meeting our recruitment goals -- but those goals are rising because the democratic congress saw the need for a larger military and authorized the re-expansion.

This is in part why the military support structure (see housing) is under so much preasure -- we are rapidly returning to a pre-Bush I millitrary­.. and thank God for that.

[STParker]

my only problem with your comment is the statement that we "We now know that Iraq had nothing to do with 911" If we had half of a brain we knew THEN.

[RoseMerry]

My dear sweet Lord in Heaven - it McCain as stupid about Bush? Does he not know that World War III cannot last more than a few hours at the most? What in God's name does he think a draft would do in a global thermonuclear exchange? As if local draft board could even meet!

[abeattie]

millions will survive in the US, even if there is a thermonuclear war. It will suck -- everyone will be sick, there could be nuclear winter (maybe) there would be rampant radiation poisoning -- but we would still be able to push for a ground war.

My advice -- if it looks like we're going to have WWIII, move to Argentina. Not the worst place in the world, and untargetted by nuclear weapons - AND at a lattitude that is unlikely to see a nuclear strike so the fallout will take years to reach you as the high winds blow E-W, not N-S

[deminmo]

Unless you are living in New York, Chicago, or near a military
base, you are likely to have 96 hours to prepare to take shelter
from nuclear fallout. With a little preparation, you can survive the
minimum 2 weeks to one month until the rads reduce to a level
to come out of shelter. Just remember to seal basement windows
with 6+" of dirt and an inside area of your basement with additional
protection of concrete blocks around you and your family. Have a
survival kit ready.
The troops will be used to control the survivors.

[shelobo]

It wouldn't be a ground war,strikes against this country would be by air ,then terrorist that HAVE been in this country would move into action maybe ?China made a missle that reached into space and shot down a old satilite while we were 'sleeping' when for years we have been told that NO missle could be made that would reach that far,for that reason we have always kept close tabs on Cuba ,we have been looking the wrong direction for years.When 911 happened there was no warning ,yet some say our goverment HAD been warned ,will we ever know the truth ?interesting site to read 'How to Survive a
Nuclear http://www.english.ilstu.edu/351/hypertext98/koss/how2survive/aboutsite/about.htmle/about.html

[cruisepuppy7452a]

Folks last year I told you all to keep an eye on this and I got told to shut up. I was called a hysterical female and that nothing like this would ever happen again. Well, chickens are coming home to roost folks. When they were gathering this info in the highschools, junoir high schools and yes, colleges, why do you think they wanted it so badly? Hello, they knew what they were planning. This has been in the works for a few years back. Scott Mclellen also alludes to it in his book. I hate to be right about this stuff, I really do, but my info comes from a reliable source. Call it an insider. My brother works for VOA has been for 20 years and gets his info from the top. Yes VOA is a propoganda tool for the white house, but also is a reputable reporting agency. If he got his info 2 years ago, this tells you how long this has been in the works. This is grounds for impeachment. .

[Ramirez]

Don't be a hysterical female. McCaen was answering a question with the only common sense answer a potential president could give.

You guys made the same fear-mongering claims in 2004 - if we reelected Bush we would have a draft. The truth is, no one wants the draft except a couple of house Democrats who propose it from time to time.

Give it a rest. There ain't gonna be any draft.

[deminmo]

So Ramirez do you think there will be a war? It's been
in the works for 3 years.

[pennst1143]

im not sure what's worse, that somebody wasted their energy posting this article or that all of you reacted with the predictable mindless liberal mantra. of course there would be a draft if the very existence of the country was at stake as it very well could be in an "all-out World War III"! that mccain set the standard so high should be a relief to some of you conspiracy theory types. what is so difficult to understand about that. are left-wingers really that averse to service and patriotism that they see a draft to be the bigger evil in this scenario relative to a hypothetical state of total war?

if barack obama answered any different he would either be a. pandering or b. demonstrating his inability to be commander in chief of this country

[truthinreporting]

...what?

[rowzeer]

There won't be a draft unless we have a third world world oh and by the way I'm planning on starting a third world war...JM

[SwamiBarmi]

1. Not all respondents are "liberals". I'm a decades-long conservative and guess what? I actually BELIEVE in the rhetoric about liberty! Fancy that! A conservative who BELIEVES in his rhetoric. Rare I know, but there you go.

If McCain starts WWIII because of your delusions that this tinpot little country with a military designed ENTIRELY FOR DEFENSIVE PURPOSES can take on the world because someday it MIGHT develop one bomb, then it's HIS war, not mine. If McCain and people like you are so cowardly that Iran really scares you, then it's no wonder people like you want a draft; anything to get someone else to fight in your place.

And for your information, a president is NEVER commander in chief of this country.

[deminmo]

Wow, do you who claim to be conservative think the fear is
about Iran? Good heavens! We are afraid of people in power
who talk so casually about "WORLD WAR III"!!
People, regular non-government people in Iran are just like
us, trying to live. They don't want war. They just can't voice
opposition like we can. The way things are going in the US,
we will be like China sometime in the future!

[shelobo]

Your comment "And for your information, a president is NEVER commander in chief of this country." That is true ,he isn't the commander of this country he/she is actually head of goverment by influence , but the president IS the commander in chief of ALL our military .Article Two of the Constitution establishes the President as commander-in-chief of the United States ARMED forces .

[shelobo]

I don't see how anyones political party affiliation would have an impact on them being drafted into world war III ?Regardless of thier political beliefs they would still be drafted !Any one who is running for President is a fool for even mentioning that he/she would bring back the draft ,UNLESS they intend for that comment to deter their political beliefs AWAY from one of their MAIN supporters(Bush) who was against reinstateing the draft before ! McCains comment is NOTHING but a political statement to do just that! He HAS to have different views/policies than the man who now holds the office that politican (McCain) now wants.As for Iran ,they have been angry at this country since our goverment helped arm Iraq during the Iraq-Iran war from 1980 to 88.In 1983 Donald Rumsfeld , then a civilian and later appointed as Defense Secretary, met with Saddam Hussein to assure him of US friendship and materials for support in Saddam Hussiens war against Iran !! We later play a major role in the removal of the same man we HELPED gain power ,Saddam Hussien !We should be VERY VERY carefull when we create the NEXT murderer for money and Oil resources http://www.iranchamber.com/history/articles/arming_iraq.phpp

[LorettaSingbiel]

"incredibly more dangerous because they are trained, equipped, motivated and assisted in every way by the Iranians."

Al Qaeda is trained, equipped, motivated and assisted in every way by the PAKISTANIS!

John McCain...i­f you're counting on MY sons to preserve & protect BIG OIL COMPANIES' profits in IRAQ...you can't have them!

OBAMA '08! (IF it's not too late!)
HOPE & CHANGE!

Stay safe, healthy and happy,
Love, Loretta