Bountyhunter, the Army (not all services) has implemented stop-loss orders for those troops who are currently in Iraq or deploying to Iraq.
Bartholomew:
The navy and Marines have also done it. My wife is the CO of a Navy reserve unit and it has been dropped on them as well, and they are really pissed. Their lives now hang open ended on a committment whose duration is unknown. Ther Navy rserve are attached to the Marines and we are hearing the same thing about them. It ain't just the Army.
This is well within the contract that all service members sign even if most don't care for it
Agreed. But most are patriots who signed aborad willing to defend the US, not spend their lives in a permanent baby sitting job trying to keep the lid on a sandy hell.
Note that it not only stops people from leaving the service, it also stops them from rotating to other units or taking promotions to higher echelons in the case of some officers.
Which conveniently freezes their pay grades where they are with no hope of advancement. That's rewarding service.
There is not going to be a draft over Iraq
Uh-huh. I just wish that came with a guarantee. I remember having a similar argument with my wife in 1989 when Bush the First was about to embark on the first Iraq war. her claim was that all through Viet nam, only a tiny percentage of reserve units were ever activated (so hers NEVER would be).... and then hers was the first unit activated in kali.
Bottom line is that the reserve and guard are about tapped out right now. We don't know how long the occupation will last and we SURE don't know where George is going to invade next if he gets a "mandate" in November... I'm thinking Syria is near the top of the list. So, we don't know if the draft is coming, but it sure is a possibility.
Personally, I disagree with you about the necessity of invading Iraq; but regardless of whether it was or not, one party behaving like buffoons does not justify similar behavior from the other party. If it is reprehensible in one case, it is reprehensible in all right?
YES. It's just that my hypocrisy buffer has reached saturation overload and I've about had it with repuboican kettles calling democratic pots black. In fact I am neither (I'm independent) but the amount of BS shoveled this year by the Bush administration has pushed me past the point of the benefit of the doubt. I didn't like it when Nixon lied, didn't like it when Clinton lied, and I like it less now because the lies got us in a disaterous war which will have grave consequences.
I don't think raising the draft issue is unfair because it's a real issue: we can debate the probability, but not that it's real. I think lying through one's teeth and repeating stories known to be false is worse.