Did Karl Rove dodge the draft? (Salt Lake Tribune)

[JoFerret]

http://www.sltrib.com/ci_2416757

Except for a lapse of several months, Selective Service records show presidential adviser Karl Rove escaped the draft for nearly three years at the height of the Vietnam War using student deferments.
....
Whether or not Rove is behind the attacks on Kerry's Vietnam record, his own draft record and accounts from friends reveal a young man who didn't necessarily agree with the war and managed to avoid being drafted.
....
Far from being a conscientious objector, Gustavson recalls, Rove's opposition to the war was political. He considered the conflict a "political skirmish that was not being properly administered."


Retired Army Col. David Hackworth, a Vietnam veteran and critic, believes Rove is behind the renewed debate about that war nearly 40 years ago. The former war correspondent and online columnist says Rove's strategy as the president's political adviser is to distract from the bloodshed in Iraq and Afghanistan by focusing the public's attention on Vietnam.
"You're dealing with the Machiavelli of modern politics," Hackworth says. "If you look at his track record, what he is really brilliant at is keeping the opposition from being locked on the real message. Do we know that Iraq is a disaster? No. But we know all about the swift boats."
....

[joefree1]

1. Chicken hawk

Name: Karl Rove
Born: 1950
Employer: Baal
Conflict Avoided: Vietnam
Notes: This little cherub was born on Christmas Day, 1950. Karl “Bush’s Brain” Rove ran George W.’s campaign, right down to the tiny detail of deciding Bush was going to run. The hardest part was convincing a horde of Republican skeptics that it could be done.

He is said to have said of his boss, he’s "the kind of candidate and officeholder political hacks like me wait a lifetime to be associated with."

Now Karl’s Senior White House advisor. If he really is “Bush’s Brain,” and if the fondest wishes of former US Ambassador Joseph C. Wilson IV come true, one fine day Karl will be “frogmarched out of the White House in mandcuffs.”

Will history record that event as “Bush’s Lobotomy?”
http://tinyurl.com/qmr6

on edit: bad url

[Dems Will Win]

24. Hang this DRAFT FLYER everywhere or Karl Jr. will have to dodge this!

PRINT THE PDF: http://somnamblst.tripod.com/draftalert.pdf
HANG THIS FLYER EVERYWHERE

This is a SPECIAL MILITARY DRAFT ALERT. THIS IS NOT THE RANGEL DRAFT BILL, THIS IS NEW! THIS IS BUSH QUIETLY READYING THE COMBAT DRAFT AND HAVING THE SELECTIVE SERVICE CREATE A NEW DRAFT FOR 2005.

In May, the Seattle Post Intelligencer published an article about a document they received through the Freedom of Information Act. It was revealed that the SSS is currently “designing procedures” for the implementation of a “Skills Draft” after holding a top-level meeting on it with Deputy Undersecretaries at the Defense Department. The top-level This draft would change the very mission of the Selective Service and require “virtually every young American”, male and female ages 18-34, to register for the Skills Draft and list all the occupations they are proficient in to fill labor shortages throughout nearly the entire government.

Here, for the first time, is the FOI document itself:

http://blatanttruth.org/selective_service091304.pdf

This document is real, having been acknowledged by the DoD and the SSS when they said no action is being taken on it at the present time, as reported:

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/171522_draft01.html

Although Congress would have to approve new legislation to create a Skills Draft or reinstate the combat draft, Family Circle reported in its July 13 issue that Karl Rove has polled GOP members of Congress in September 2002 to see if they would support the President if he requests reinstatement. The Republicans said they would vote for the draft.

In addition, the SSS itself has said that it is “designing procedures” (Seattle PI, May 1, 2004) to implement the skills draft, meaning designing the compliance cards and the data fields needed to keep track of “virtually every young American” and their skills. Acting Director of the SSS Brodsky has also said the Skills Draft is the “top priority” of the Selective Service for 2004. The Issue Paper options include:

- Allow a non-combat draft for shortages in critical skills, without calling a combat draft.

- Fill labor shortages of all kinds throughout not only DoD but the Dept. of Homeland Security and other agencies, especially high-paying professionals like computer networking specialist or linguist.

- Create a single-point, all-inclusive database, in which every young person would be forced to send in a “self-declaration” of all of their critical skills, chosen from a long list of occupations like the Armed Forces Specialty Code. The usual penalties of imprisonment and/or a $250,000 fine would apply to all non-registrants.

In the secret planning meeting document, the next steps strongly recommended by SSS Acting Director Brodsky were:

1. “Promptly” redefine the SSS Mission to draft men and women up to age 34 for skills, and deliver them within 90 days or sooner to the Department of Defense. Program a massive database to be ready to enter millions of names of those registering their critical skills.

2. Expand mission to deliver personnel in skills draft to the Department of Homeland Security and other agencies, including FEMA, NSC, Border Patrol, INS, Customs, Corporation for National Service, Public Health Service and other agencies.

3. Form interagency task force to provide Administration with recommendation on this skills draft for the entire government.

4. Obtain White House Statement of Administration Policy on the future of the SSS.

5. Be prepared to market the skills draft, raising the non-combat age to 34 and the drafting of women to the Armed Services and Appropriations Committee.

In contrast to this planning and preparation to create a targeted draft, Kerry plans to spend an additional $7 billion to strengthen the Volunteer Army in what is essentially a “No-Draft Plan”. Moreover, Kerry is strongly opposed to the neo-con plan revealed in Wes Clark’s book Winning Modern Wars, in which Clark was told by a senior Pentagon official that invasions of Syria, Lebanon, Iran, Sudan and Somalia were planned and still to come over the next three years.

DON'T FORGET TO USE THE .PDF NOT THE .GIF FILE.

BUSH '04 = DRAFT '05

KERRY '04 = PNAC OUT THE DOOR!

[Princess Turandot]

30. I'm not commenting on the ability of women to serve in the military..

but I have to wonder how Americans will digest having their daughters potentially drafted as well as their sons. Something tells me that it isn't going to go down easily. And in this climate, even if they did not draft women, I bet someone on a draft list would start a lawsuit demanding that they be included.

[havocmom]

2. Well, he didn't serve in the military at a time men his age were called up

http://www.awolbush.com/whoserved.html Down the page a bit for Rove's entry. Useful site.

"Karl Rove - avoided the draft, did not serve (1), too busy being a Republican."

More Rove info:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/campaigns/wh2000/stories/rove072399.htm

<snip> Back in 1972, the 22-year-old Rove was a candidate for chairman of the College Republicans.//

[saigon68]

4. Another COWARDLY DRAFT DODGER

JUST WHAT I SUSPECTED

[demoman123]

31. I was a draft-dodger myself during the illegal and immoral Vietnam War.

Gonna call me names, too? Go right ahead. Doesn't bother me at all.

[fishface]

3. fatass chickenhawk pussy

perfect guy to work for that other chickenhawk pussy

[DrBB]

5. Well, no, apparently. And what's weird about that story

...is they keep insisting that Kerry's people are making a big deal of questioning Rove's history in this regard, whereas I have heard nary a word about it except for this article. And the article makes it pretty clear that he "avoided the draft" the same way LOTS of people did: by being enrolled in college. I mean, if you were virulently pro-war but getting out of it this way, that's one thing, but Rove seems to have been pretty much in the middle--or muddle--like lots of guys were, and pursuing an undergraduate degree the way he would have if he had a lottery number of 365.

So who IS making this an issue? Rove, I suspect. Seems like "We are the victims! We're being falsely slandered and accused" is the Reptilicans' flavor of the month.

[IndianaGreen]

6. Student deferments are legitimate... dodging is another matter

Dodging the draft is illegal, although in the case of an immoral war such as Vietnam and Iraq, it is perfectly defensible. I even know a man that fled to Canada in order to avoid being drafted. He returned to the US under Jimmy Carter's amnesty program and has lived a productive life as a union organizer.

The only label that would apply to Rove and the other warmongers of both major parties that got us into Iraq is that of "Chicken Hawk," and that includes those that went to seminary because "GAWD called them" to minister.

It is also true that the GOP has a larger proportion of chicken hawks than the Democrats. It has something to do with family wealth and the lack of social conscience.

[nadinbrzezinski]

7. Ok folks it is time to make Karl Rove the center of news

first there are traces from him to the blogger and the Killian memos...

LA Times

Now this

Folks time to make Karl the NEWS

Change the message

[steely]

9. off topic - some of my repug friends

don't even know who he is.

What's that tell you? (keep the kool-aide comin')

[nadinbrzezinski]

15. They don't becuae them cuteseys as Fox don't

talk about uncle Karl and that goes FOR EVERY MAJOR news outlet

[steely]

28. Agreed - that and they (repugs) aren't what I would call

free minded thinkers - nor are they willing to do a little bit of research.

[Ravy]

10. I think what Hackworth is saying is that we should...

make IRAQ the news.

[nadinbrzezinski]

13. Here is teh connection to Iraq my freind

Niger forgeries

Valery Plane

NOFacts Novak

Karl Rove.

[Ravy]

25. I know, but it is hard to get voters to connect the dots...

... so I think it is best to how Bush has mis-managed the war and the economy, and has no plan to improve either in a second term.

No dots to connect there!

[IndianaGreen]

8. On dodging and avoiding--they don't mean the same thing

The article is misleading when it says that Rove "dodge" the draft. A deferment is a way to "avoid" the draft, and it is not the same thing as dodging it. Clinton avoided the draft.

We all avoid taxes! We all take advantage of certain features in the tax code to reduce our tax liability. If our income is low enough, we even get money back that we didn't earn.

Tax dodging is a criminal act, not to be confused with tax avoidance which is a legal act.

One last thought, during Vietnam I participated in teach-ins whose purpose was to get people to dodge the draft, and if they were in the military, to get out of the service by whatever means necessary.

I will never point a finger at someone for dodging the draft for a criminal war. Now, if that person happens to be a warmonger, then it is a fair game to point out that they are demanding something from others that they did not demand from themselves. The boil in the ass that Rush had!

[saigon68]

11. Good point IG

The Coward wants others to die for the Corporations and their Profits, while he "avoided it" and is making big bucks by SHILLING for the same Corporate Masters.

[IndianaGreen]

14. In Cheney's case is far worse, for he has profited from the war

Cheney reminds me of the arms merchants of World War I that made a fortune out of the misery their industry brought to the world.

[saigon68]

17. Like the Krupp Criminals

good analogy

[IndianaGreen]

18. Exactly

Cheney is the epitomy of the arms merchant that profits from a war that he helped start.

[leftchick]

26. That is crystal clear to me IG....

now why the hell can't everybody see it?

[DrBB]

12. That's the point I'm making too

...in my post above. It doesn't appear that Karl was particularly a war supporter. And as far as I can tell, no one on the Dem side IS pushing this story, particularly. To me this looks like an attempt to play the Dems as the smear-mongers. Same approach Mel Gibson used with his Jesus Chainsaw Massacre: "Why are they all slandering my movie?" he asked, when no one had said anything about it.

Trying to jump all over a story like this when there's nothing there is just more distraction from how badly the REAL war is going. Rove strategy in a nutshell: muddy all waters, keep pumping a huge amount of noise in the system, and keep your guys repeating the same b.s. over and over and over. "We have a clear message!" Simplicity itself, and it works.

[IndianaGreen]

16. I completely agree with your observation

there seems to be a lot of muddying of the water nowadays. The polls do indicate that voters feel that the candidates are not addressing the issues. We know that Kerry and Edwards are talking about the economy, but their message is getting buried by stories about Rathergate, Kobe, Peterson, etc.

Most voters don't go searching for news like DUers do. They rely on their local news, or the TV for information.

[TahitiNut]

34. Of course. Hell, I "avoided" the draft as a college student ...

... through 1966 and then as a high school teacher for the 1966-67 school year. When I took a job at Chevrolet (MIS/EDP) in 1967, I was 24 years old. It only took eight months until I got my induction notice and was drafted in March 1968.

I often wonder whether I should have continued teaching for another year. :shrug:
I loved the job, but the salary ($5K/year) was the pits. The maximum raise I could've gotten from the school was 10% to $5,500/year. (In fact, they offered me that maximum, too.) Cherolet paid me $8,600 to start - even during an "austerity program."

[Justice]

19. Do we know that Iraq is a disaster? No.

But we know all about the swift boats.

How true.

[amber dog democrat]

20. Even if we were "winning" the Vietnam War

he still would have avoided service. Low life forms tend to exhibit cowardice.
Karl Rove is pure unadulterated evil.

[agingdem]

21. What I don't get is this...

When my husband was in college he got deferments until he graduated. He asked for another deferment so he could go to law school...he was denied a deferment and was told that he didn't enlist or join a reserve unit he would be in Viet Nam within 6 months. Now...how did Rove and Cheney continue to get these deferments?

[Katherine2]

22. Karl Rove didn't even graduate from college (eom)

[Iceburg]

23. Neither did b%$h but he did receive a diploma ... rove hates that!

[xultar]

27. Just think how much better the world would be if he had gone,,,n/t

[struggle4progress]

29. kick for chicken hawks

:kick:

[mahina]

32. And we're paying him.

that's the part that turns my stomach.
Saw "Bush's Brain" http://bushsbrain.com/
and I have to say this man is just evil. Not a word I use often, but the only one that will serve.
These people just have to go.
The only remedy to their hate is to stay on message and tell the truth. Thanks for the mediablaster Skinner- people, we are going to need it.

[eek]

33. he's also a nasty lil adulterer

twice married.
current wife, Darby, and his son, Andrew are stashed safely in VA burbs.

That allows kkk to be as blatant with his long-term gal pal
She's a lobbyist from TX. She makes a bundle thanks to her access.
Oh - and her cushy appointments at the WH etc.

And he and she still need to pick up an extra gal for extra fun.


Barf bags , anyone?

[Ilsa]

35. Any other details?

ID on the mistress? What causes does she lobby? I'd like to keep an eye for for that one.

Tom DeLay's brother has his lobbying hands into some contruction financing messes in Texas.