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Rumsfeld Claims Vietnam-era Draftees were of "No Value"
(Associated Press, January 21, 2003)
Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld came under fire Tuesday for saying Vietnam-era draftees added "no value, no advantage" to the U.S. military because they served for such short periods. . . . The letter signed by Sens. Tom Daschle of South Dakota and John Kerry of Massachusetts and Rep. Lane Evans of Illinois argued that Rumsfeld's remarks at a Jan. 7 Pentagon news conference were offensive to veterans. . . . "We are shocked, frankly, that you were apparently willing to dismiss the value of the service of millions of Americans, tens of thousands of whom gave their lives for their country in World War I, World War II, Korea and Vietnam," they wrote. . . . Rumsfeld said. "Big categories were exempted people that were in college, people that were teaching, people that were married. It varied from time to time, but there were all kinds of exemptions. And what was left was sucked into the intake, trained for a period of months, and then went out, adding no value, no advantage, really, to the United States armed services over any sustained period of time, because the churning that took place, it took enormous amount of effort in terms of training, and then they were gone." . . . The letter to Rumsfeld said he had distorted the historical record. . . . "It is not only inaccurate, but also deeply offensive, to describe the service of these men who answered the call of their country as without value," they wrote. "A more careful look at the record indicates that America's draftees played a crucial role in defense of liberty and democracy around the globe." . . . The letter said that about one of every three Americans killed in combat in Vietnam was a draftee, approximately 20,000 draftees in all. "Many more draftees came home with severe physical and emotional scars," they added. "Those who served in Korea and the two world wars can also attest to the value added by draftees."

[Comment: Listen to what this jerk Rumsfeld is saying. He's saying that:
- if you weren't able to get a deferment (like those who are now running this country did...except for Jr., of course, who went AWOL for 18 months and never served any time for it)
- and you got drafted ("sucked into the intake" as Rumsfeld calls it)
- that during those years you spent in service of this country you were

"adding no value, no advantage"

I find it outrageous that the women and men of our armed forces are reporting to someone like Rumsfeld who obviously holds almost everyone on earth in contempt.]

posted by Lorenzo 12:25 PM