[Seattle-editorial] Article: War, the Draft and CO Status

Sat Oct 25 10:17:36 PDT 2003

Proposed article:
*************************************************************************
*****
Summary -

<P>War, the Draft and Conscientious Objector Status 
<BR>by Kirsten Anderberg Copyright 2003

America is at war, in a very colonialistic occupation. It is a very
unpopular war. It is not a "liberation." And we have not even begun to
deal with North Korea, and the international community, that now hates
and distrusts us. I worry that if G.W. Bush is reelected, America will be
in a perpetual war on the world, and I do not believe we can do that
endlessly without the Draft being reinstated. They are going to require
expendable bodies, eventually, for all this warring. I am the mother of a
19 year old male. And even though there is not an active Draft right now,
my son was required by federal law to register for the Selective Service.
Even though there is no Draft right now, we are still making men register
for this system or branding them Federal criminals. Men not old enough to
be allowed to buy alcohol, are registered to fight in wars. As America
continues warring, and the need for soldiers grows, I believe the Draft
will resurface as an issue. The biggest questions we all have are, "How
does the Draft work?," and "How do you establish Conscientious Objector
(CO) status?" This article outlines the CO system, STEP BY STEP, so you
can prepare your file now. Once called up for the Draft, you may have 9,
NINE, days to PROVE you are a CO or be shipped out. Preparedness is
Patriotic!

*************************************************************************
**********************************************************

<P>War, the Draft and Conscientious Objector Status 
<BR>by Kirsten Anderberg Copyright 2003

America is at war, in a very colonialistic occupation, no matter what
fancy words we use. It is a very unpopular war. It is not a "liberation."
And we have not even begun to deal with North Korea, and the
international community, that now hates and distrusts us. I saw the
American news today, touting victory at the Madrid conference, over our
huge donations received from other countries to help us in the rebuilding
of Iraq. But the television news left out one very important part of that
story. A new agency had to be formed, to be run by the World Bank and the
United Nations, independent of the American occupation, since other
nations do not trust Americans with their money in Iraq, and do not want
to appear to be in alliance with the occupation forces. The Coalition
Provisional Authority (CPA) is an agency of American decision makers that
the European nations do not want their money co-mingled with. And the
Development Fund for Iraq (DFI) is run by occupation administrators
(i.e., America) and Iraqis they choose, and was recognized by the U.N.
Security Council in May 2003. The Iraqi Governing Council is a 25 member
body picked by the American occupation. The U.N. International Advisory
and Monitoring Board was supposed to work in tandem with the DFI, but
that "has proved inadequate to assuage donors," the NYTimes said. An
American "administration official" said "We had to act because the
international community was stonewalling us on aid." "The donors all want
a little distance from us," he said, according to the Times. The Times
additionally said these administration officials said this new fund
"would be the FIRST that had so many controls to keep it separate from
the military forces running the country." (NYTimes, Oct. 20. 2003).

I worry that if G.W. Bush is reelected, America will be in a perpetual
war on the world, and I do not believe we can do that endlessly without
the Draft being reinstated. Just as Americans MUST pillage oil-rich
countries to sustain their one-driver/one-car needs, they also are going
to require expendable bodies, eventually, for all this warring. I am the
mother of a 19 year old male. And even though there is not an active
Draft right now, my son was required by federal law to register for the
Selective Service System (SSS) (<a
href="http://www.sss.gov">www.sss.gov</A>), aka "the Draft" as soon as he
hit 18. He was also required to register for the Draft to receive
financial aid in college. We decided that since it is a felony crime not
to register, it was easiest to register, and then research alternatives.
Some resist registration, and I applaud those efforts (<a
href="http://www.draftresistance.org">www.draftresistance.org</A>). But
for the rest of us, we need to know what our options are.

<P>The biggest questions we all have are, "How does the Draft work?," and
"How do you establish Conscientious Objector (CO) status?" 

HOW DOES THE DRAFT WORK?
Before a draft can be enacted, Congress and the President have to
authorize the draft calls. Under current laws, the draft will start with
men who turn 20 years old in the year the draft was enacted. They will be
placed in the famous "lottery" system. If your name is called up in the
lottery, you have 10 DAYS to report to the Military Entrance Processing
Station (MEPS), unless you file a claim for a deferment or exemption.
Once called up for service, you file your CO claim with the military.
Once your claim is filed, your induction date will be postponed while the
draft board investigates the claim. If your claim is rejected, you
receive a new induction date. (Seems like EVERYONE should at least use
this to buy time!) The Central Committee for Conscientious Objectors (<a
href="http://www.objector.org">www.objector.org</A>) will help you find
legal aid and resources so you can get through the long appeals process.
You can claim all classifications that apply to you. Currently, the
exemptions from the draft are: 
 * a minister or divinity student
 * sole surviving son of a family whose mother, father or siblings
have died as a result of military action
 * sole financial or other support to family members who are
dependent, elderly, disabled and/or ill
 * physically or mentally incapable of being in the military
 * homosexual or bisexual
 * a Conscientious Objector

The legal definition of "Conscientious Objector" is: "a person who
objects to participation in all forms of war, and whose belief is based
on a religious, moral or ethical belief system." You do not need to be
"religious," or even believe in god, to qualify as a CO. You have to
oppose organized killing and war, due to religious, moral or ethical
conviction. Under the current legal definitions, you cannot selectively
oppose certain wars, but must oppose ALL wars.

The 6 types of CO actions currently recognized are: CO's, Noncombatant
CO's, Taxpayer Resistors, Selective War Objectors, Nuclear Pacifists, and
Noncooperation with the Draft. Only the first two categories, CO and
Noncombatant CO, are recognized by the federal laws for draft or war duty
exemptions.

* CO - A CO is someone, who by reason of religious, ethical, or moral
belief are "conscientiously opposed to participation in war in any form."
CO's will be exempt from military service but may be required to perform
civilian tasks.
 * Noncombatant CO - A CO who does not object to noncombatant military
duties, such as medic. These CO's are trained without weapons and
assigned to non-combatant duty.
 * Tax Resistors - These are people who refuse to pay the military
portion of their taxes due to their CO beliefs. For more information,
contact the National Campaign for a Peace Tax Fund at 1-888-PEACETAX.
 * Selective Objectors - This type of CO feels that they would fight a
just war, but not an unjust war, thus their CO status varies, depending
on the war's circumstances.
 * Nuclear Pacifists - These are people who refuse to participate in
nuclear war, or what could become a nuclear war. Some feel that any war
fought today would lead to nuclear war and thus object to all war as
nuclear pacifists.
 * Noncooperation with the Draft - These people refuse to cooperate
with the draft laws, i.e., they do not register for the draft, or they do
not respond when called up, or become "draft dodgers."

HOW DO YOU ESTABLISH CONSCIENTIOUS OBJECTOR STATUS?

STEP ONE - STATEMENT OF BELIEFS
 The first step is to write "Conscientious Objector" on the bottom of
the card you send in to register with the SSS. If you missed the chance
for that or registered online, don't worry. There are things you can do
NOW. The reason that you need to make a CO file NOW is that once a draft
is enacted, you could have 9 days to get a file together on your behalf!
I SAID NINE DAYS! Do it now, and the older and longer you have a file on
this, the more success you will have at an exemption.

Form 22 of the current Selective Service Documentation form for CO's
ask several questions that you need to think about and answer on file
now. It asks you to "describe your beliefs which are the reasons for your
claiming conscientious objection to combatant military training and
service or to all military training and service." You want to make a
statement on paper NOW that includes these concepts. Write your own
statement about why you object to the war. Start by saying that you are
conscientiously opposed to war, then describe what beliefs lead you to
that stance. Be clear about whether you are a CO or a noncombatant CO. If
you want a full exemption, be clear about why noncombatant service would
violate your conscience. Although the CO and noncombatant CO status' are
the only CO status' recognized currently for draft exemptions, it is
worthwhile to also file your other CO status descriptions in your claim
in case the other CO status' become recognized later. For instance, if
you are a CO tax resistor, document it now, in case later that qualifies
for draft exemption. If you are a nuclear pacifist or a selective CO,
document it anyway. If you are not cooperating with the draft or
registration with the SSS, record the reasons why on paper.

Form 22 also says, "Describe how and when you acquired these beliefs."
Write down a list of events, people, experiences, and influences that
have lead you to these beliefs. Include classes, travel, religious
experiences, teachings, volunteer work, activism, anything that has
helped influence you to be a CO. It is important to establish your
beliefs as a higher, conventional value, since unconventional and mere
political beliefs do not make the cut. An arbitrary personal belief will
not stand. It has to be based on "a religious, moral or ethical belief
system." Or in other words, you need to tailor your argument to fit a
traditional anti-war "SYSTEM." A "system" is more than one person. A
"system" is "established." Take the time to construct a solid, logical
statement based on facts and traditions, rather than making an illusive
free-spirit argument.

Form 22 also says, "Explain what most clearly shows that your beliefs
are deeply held. You may wish to include a description of how your
beliefs affect the way you live." If you do not have alot of experience
to cite here as proof of your convictions, you can use your FUTURE plans
to illustrate your convictions. Talk about previous classes or future
career plans that relate to your CO status. Describe letters to editors,
essays from school, anything that shows your commitment as a CO. Talk
about how your life is lived in accordance with your CO beliefs. Use this
opportunity to show your sincerity re your claims.

STEP TWO - LETTERS OF SUPPORT
 Once you have composed your CO statement, explaining why you believe
what you do and how it affects your ability to fight in a war, send it to
people who know you, and ask them to write a letter of support. These
people will read your statement and attest to the sincerity of your
statement, based on their experiences with you. Especially good are
letters from clergy, teachers, and professional relations. The best
letters are from people who disagree with CO status, but believe your
statement regarding your own beliefs. You should solicit 3-4 letters,
then pick the best 2-3 and keep them on record. You may also want to
compose a list of people to testify on your behalf at the draft hearing
and keep that on file too.

STEP THREE - RECORDING YOUR FILES
 Once you have written the statement of beliefs and gathered the
letters of support and witnesses, you need to make three separate CO
files. Keep the original copies of the statement and the letters of
support in a file at your own home. Send copies of the letters and
statement to the Central Committee for Conscientious Objectors (<a
href="http://www.objector.org">www.objector.org</A>) so that an unrelated
third party has your file. And then give a third copy of the materials to
a community leader, a member of clergy, any leader who can vouch for your
sincerity later.

STEP FOUR - KEEP INFORMED
 The internet allows us exceptional opportunities for information
sharing and updates. Join some of the email lists with action updates to
stay informed. Visit the websites dedicated to this work. 
 * Center for Conscientious Objectors - <a
href="http://www.objector.org">www.objector.org</A>
 * National Council of Churches - <a
href="http://www.ncccusa.org">www.ncccusa.org</A>
 * A group working to end registration and the draft - <a
href="http://www.nixbco.org">www.nisbco.org</A> 
 * Unitarian Universalist Association - <a
href="http://www.uua.org">www.uua.org</A>
 * Interview with a Vietnam War Draft dodger, 35 yrs later -
<a
href="http://www.alt.venus.co.uk/weed/cricket/vietnam.htm">www.alt.venus.
co.uk/weed/cricket/vietnam.htm</A>

*************************************************************************
*********************
For near-daily political ramblings from Kirsten, visit her blog at
www.kanderberg.blogspot.com 
or go to her writing website at www.kirstenanderberg.com

________________________________________________________________
The best thing to hit the internet in years - Juno SpeedBand!
Surf the web up to FIVE TIMES FASTER!
Only $14.95/ month - visit www.juno.com to sign up today!