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No Draft, No Way

By VVAW

USED IN WAR, THEN THROWN AWAY, BUT NOT AGAIN

Only one of the Ronald Reagan's campaign planks dealt with ending the peacetime draft, and who knows how many votes that won for him? Most people realized that while he opposed the peace-time draft he was quite wiling to start a war instead and institute the war-time draft in a moment. But with the election won and inauguration over, even the opposition to the peacetime draft disappeared under the crunch of advice from military counsellors.

Whether or not the anti-draft campaign promises won him any votes, Reagan and his political advisors did gage correctly a real feeling among millions of Americans. When the Carter Administration pushed through the new registration plan and that plan went into effect, large demonstrations across the country took place at post offices where the official registration was taking place for 19 and 20 years old.

Immediately, the media across the country began to report massive non-compliance: 31% in Baltimore, 32% in Chicago, 47% in Peoria, Illinois, and on and on. In an independent survey by the Boston Globe, 25% of eligible young men did not sign up. But within days the Selective Service System announced that 95% of all eligible registrants signed up—a remarkable statistical sleight-of-hand: the government had announced earlier it would take up to four months to compile the figures, but when Carter's sagging political fortunes needed a boost, suddenly the figures were immediately available. What dark crevice these figures were pulled out of can only be guessed.

Pro-draft forced did not reply on carrot of patriotism to persuade young men to sign up. Carter's Attorney General issued lethal threats against anyone who refused to register. Despite the threats nearly a thousand young men across the U.S. stood up before the media and publically defied the government on the basis of their personal, moral or political opposition to registration. To date not one charge has been brought against these bold young men.

By even the most conservative estimate, one million men did not register. Huge numbers noted on their forms that they were registering under protest, others put in for conscientious objector status, an unknown number of bogus applications were made by men past draft age, women filled out forms using their first initials and last names. In all, registration took place, but it was absurd to say it was "successful."

Anti-draft forces and coalitions, organized nationwide, were a key factor in deflating the registration drive. Representing a broad segment of society, the potential registrants, their families, students, young workers, women, trade unionists, political groups of many types, and veterans—particularly Vietnam vets—laid a solid foundation of organization and experience which made the anti-draft movement stronger from the start than its predecessor in the early 196's (which was successful in getting registration and the draft shelved).

The American public was not quite as gullible as the government seemed to hope. With increasing international tension between the U.S. and the Soviet Union, with the events in Iran, and the presence of military "advisors" in Central America (particularly in El Salvador) who would believe we needed a "peace-time" registration but there were no plans for a draft. Come on guys—you may try to keep us ignorant, but we're not that stupid!

The anti-draft movement more than met its first test on the first round; anti-draft forces were out again during the early weeks of January when the law called for registration of the next crop of potential cannon fodder; no statistics are yet available on this last mass registration attempt (in the future registrants will be expected to register on their 18th birthday).

With the future of registration and the draft uncertain under the Reagan regime, still the anti-draft forces have made some significant gains. After a period of low activity, they have grown and, more important, have successfully branched out into community levels bringing in more people—people who have often not been involved in political issues in the past.

Legal battles which still surround the draft are also important. Not one of the men who went public against registration has yet been prosecuted. Of the million ( at least) non-registrants, there is no feat or federal prosecution that can only handle 40,000 cases a year (which includes every federal prosecution for anything) which can make a dent in charges brought against those who refused to register. If federal courts dealt with nothing but anti-registration cases for the next twenty years they would still not finish—and that even assumes no one will refuse to register in the future!

And the government has other problems with the draft: a federal ruling now prohibit's the use of social security number as a form of identification for registrants, something which will make finding non-registrants even more difficult. And an ACLU suite challenging the registration laws on the basis of sex discrimination is now before the Supreme Court, which, while it may try to duck the issue, will still have to put forward some ruling which can well have widespread effects.

Much of the anti-draft activity nationwide has gone on in small local groups growing out of a couple of individuals whose opposition to registration was strong enough to get them out to organize others. In an attempt to coordinate this activity nationwide, the Coalition Against Registration and the Draft (CARD) is, with other groups, putting together an anti-draft conference to be held at Wayne State University in Detroit in mid February to plan a national strategy for anti-draft work for the future. VVAW will be there and everywhere else possible to use our experience to help build the anti-draft forces.

NO DRAFT, NO WAR!