Kerry Surrogates Continue to Peddle Draft Rumor
By: Administrative Account | Source: CNSNews.com
October 9, 2004 4:56PM EST

By Robert B. Bluey
CNSNews.com Staff Writer
October 08, 2004

St. Louis (CNSNews.com) - President Bush made it clear at Friday's debate that the United States wouldn't have a military draft under his watch, but that didn't stop top Democrats from circulating rumors afterward that it could still happen.

"It's a factor that ought to play a role in every young person's decision," said retired Gen. Merrill A. "Tony" McPeak, a surrogate for Sen. John Kerry. "The president says he's against a draft, he committed against a draft again tonight, but I don't see how he gets out of this boxed canyon he's taken the troops into without sending some cavalry to the rescue.

"The way you get people riding to the rescue is to go out and conscript if you can't get them any other way," McPeak told CNSNews.com. "That's the course he's on."

One of Kerry's foreign policy advisers, Jamie Rubin, a former assistant secretary of state, said Republicans are simply ignoring the realities of today's military if they think more help isn't needed.

"I don't think that they're credible on this issue," Rubin told CNSNews.com. "There's a backdoor draft going on now where reservists are forced to continue duty."

Although he opposes a draft, Rubin said the need for one would only increase if the United States were forced to extend the military to another part of the globe.

"If President Bush is to launch another war without allies, without support from the rest of the world," Rubin said, "then I fear that it's going to be harder and harder for our Army to perform."

Madeleine Albright, former secretary of state under President Bill Clinton, was less direct in her response to questions about the possibility of a draft. But her answers, too, were a warning of sorts for young voters.

"I think our young people need to understand what the stakes are and that Senator Kerry will do everything he can to bring other countries in," Albright told CNSNews.com.

Republicans wasted little time debunking the rumors. White House Communications Director Dan Bartlett said the president appreciated the chance to shoot down the Internet chatter, which has run rampant on college campuses in particular.

"The talk of propaganda that's being used by the Democrat Party about the draft is total nonsense," Bartlett said. "It's probably one of the uglier aspects of this campaign so far."

The topic came up earlier Friday during an appearance by Democratic National Committee Chairman Terry McAuliffe at a College Democrats event. McAuliffe told the Washington University students that Bush would reinstitute the draft if re-elected.

Ed Gillespie, chairman of the Republican National Committee, said the Democrats were stooping to a new low by continuing to peddle the rumor.

"They're trying to run a campaign of fear," Gillespie told CNSNews.com. "They're trying to scare senior citizens over Social Security, scare African-Americans over intimidation and scare young voters over this draft. The president made clear tonight it's an absurd assertion."

Bush, in his own words, couldn't have been more emphatic in response to a question.

"We're not going to have a draft, period," he said. "The all-volunteer Army works. It works particularly when we pay our troops well. It works when we make sure they've got housing, like we have done in the last military budgets."

Kerry also said he opposed the idea of a draft, but he claimed the military was currently overextended and needed reinforcements. He proposed adding 40,000 new active duty troops and reaching out to the international community for help.

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