One Way To Find Out

Two California National Guard soldiers have filed suits that contend the military's controversial "stop-loss" program to involuntarily extend enlistments is illegal when applied to National Guard soldiers, about 40,000 of whom are deployed in the U.S. occupation of Iraq. [...]

Lt. Col. Michael Jones, chief of recruiting and retention at National Guard headquarters in Washington, said the two soldiers represent the views of a tiny minority of those whose terms of service have been involuntarily extended.

"It is only two individuals out of 200,000 who are taking this action," said Jones, who also said he doubted any veteran soldiers would be surprised or caught off-guard by the involuntary call to duty.

"It's like a doctor who smokes and later claims that he didn't know that cigarettes cause cancer," Jones said. "Every veteran knows he faces possible active duty."

Very charming (even if he doesn't, apparently, understand the difference between an initial "call to duty" and "stop-loss" extensions of tours of duty).

But it'd be easy enough to determine how "tiny" the "minority" is: make tour extensions completely voluntary.

This might be especially appropriate given Dubya's insistent manner during the St. Louis debate:

I hear there's rumors on the Internets [sic] that we're going to have a draft. We're not going to have a draft, period. The all-volunteer army works.

Do you believe homosexuality is a choice?

BUSH: You know, Bob, I don't know. I just don't know.

One way for him to find out: ask homosexuals themselves whether or not it's a choice. But, uh, you'd kinda have to be a rocket scientist to come to that realisation.

Posted by Eddie Tews at October 13, 2004 03:43 PM