Bush was good today

[odannyboy]

Originally Posted by m60-gunner

Once again Dan you've turned this into a hate Bush and the admistration thread.

The thread is about the President. I backed up my concerns with the Presidents own words.

Originally Posted by m60-gunner

The way the world is we as the most powerful nation in the history of mankind must use our power not to conquer but to stabilize situations.

Just the opposite of what we are doing then.

Originally Posted by m60-gunner

I may not like him but, there are things that go on in the world we don't know and have no bussines of knowing. Dan take your blinders off and get your head out of your rear. This is'nt a game.

Ignorance of the world is no excuse. If you choose to remain that way dont use it as justification for supporting these people.

I took my blinders off shortly after 9/11, and started seeing things as they are when this administration used an incredible (perhaps not seen since 1941) amount of trust and support for their President and their government and abused this trust to further a personal agenda, lying for an invasion of Iraq when they should have been DOING THEIR JOB and worrying about Al-Qaeda and terrorism.

My blinders are off. Yours are on.

[KBay84]

No, no, no! Break time is NOT over yet, darnit!

[odannyboy]

Originally Posted by KBay84

I think he was calm, yet forceful in his convictions.
We won't stop helping Iraq become a safer place
and self sufficient while I'M on watch.

Good news! You might get your chance to put your money where your mouth is. (or you could just go down and *cough* volunteer)

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060822/...sa_troops_dc_2

[KBay84]

Originally Posted by odannyboy

Good news! You might get your chance to put your money where your mouth is. (or you could just go down and *cough* volunteer)

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060822/...sa_troops_dc_2

Danno, if they told me to suit up again, I'd go back without a complaint. Have you been at all? Maybe it is you who need to ante up and spend a few months in the Gulf.

[KBay84]

Sorry, all.....back to the topic, my bad for taking the bait.

[Snowden]

Let's put Dan's story here where everybody can see it, no matter how slow their computer or browser:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060822/...sa_troops_dc_2

Marine Corps to start involuntary troop recalls
By Kristin Roberts
Tue Aug 22, 2:10 PM ET



WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Marine Corps will start recalling thousands of inactive service members in the coming months to counter a steady decline in the number of non-active troops volunteering for duty, the service said on Tuesday.

Col. Guy Stratton, head of the Marine Corps' manpower mobilization plans, said the service is short some 1,200 volunteers over the next 18 months to fill roles in the war on terrorism. The total shortfall fluctuates regularly, he said.

To meet critical needs, Stratton said President George W. Bush authorized the Marine Corps to issue involuntary recall orders to members of the Individual Ready Reserve, part of the non-active force. It will be the Marine Corps' first involuntary recall since the ground invasion of Iraq in 2003.

No more than 2,500 Marines may be involuntarily activated at once under the new authorization, Stratton said. About 35,000 Marines are available to be recalled involuntarily.

While the length of each activated servicemember's duty is capped, there is no time limit on the Marine Corps' authority to involuntarily recall Marines for jobs in the "Global War on Terror" -- a war whose parameters remain largely undefined.

"The authority is until GWOT is over with," Stratton said. "Until we're told to do otherwise, we'll use it."

The Marine Corps' move comes almost five years after the September 11 attacks that led the United States to declare "a war against terrorism of global reach" and more than three years after the Iraq war began.

Many Marines have performed three tours of duty in Iraq since March 2003. While the U.S. Army has provided most of the ground forces fighting an insurgency there, the Marines have carried a heavy load and been deployed in one of the most dangerous parts of Iraq, Anbar province.

Beyond Iraq, the broader war against terrorism is expected to last many years, defense officials regularly say.

The Marines and Army have been meeting monthly recruiting goals. But some analysts have questioned the military's ability to sustain long-term operations with its all-volunteer force.

The Army has previously taken steps to keep soldiers from leaving, such as temporary "stop loss" orders that prohibited troops returning from Iraq and Afghanistan from retiring for a set period after arriving at their home bases.

Such moves have been criticized by some as a form of back-door draft.
Stratton, however, said the Marines' involuntary recall was not a back-door draft and that Marines on non-active status should always expect that they may be called when needed.

Under a general contract, a Marine serves four years on active duty and four in reserve. While on reserve, Marines may volunteer to return to active duty to fill needed roles.

But the number of Marines volunteering outside their active-duty service requirement has been steadily declining for two years, according to Stratton, who said he could not say why Marines were not volunteering.

[KBay84]

Such moves have been criticized by some as a form of back-door draft.Stratton, however, said the Marines' involuntary recall was not a back-door draft and that Marines on non-active status should always expect that they may be called when needed.

Only someone ignorant of the terms of service would call that a "Backdoor Draft". At least they volunteered to join and serve in the first place. Even retirees are subject to recall up to the age of 65.

The Army and Air Guard has been recalling retirees for the last couple years because they couldn't make the recruiting quotas.