The following is a story told from the very personal perspective of a few people. It is told in a well-written article that very effectively puts a human face on what is often referred to as the “backdoor draft.” The article appeared last Sunday in the South Pinellas edition of the St. Petersburg Times (published in St. Petersburg, FL) Unfortunately, I can’t find a “working” direct link to this article - but if you input “pregnant Christie Iraq” into the search box on their front page it should come up quickly.
Normally I am against reproducing a whole article, certainly of a length similar to this one. But I believe that there’s a distinct interest in sharing this story here, as it would otherwise likely get lost in the “usual” verbal fireworks of this presidential campaign, on an issue that in my opinion already receives too little attention.
For those who “know” me, I hope it’s obvious that I’m not criticizing the choice of this woman, Christie Oliver, in any way. I most dearly hope that, about nine months from now, a healthy, happy new citizen will be born into a happy and loving family.
But I do believe that there’s something very sad about the circumstance in which this future human being came to be.
The “backdoor draft” issue, in relation with the war in Iraq, ought to be a matter of public debate - not a matter discussed at the kitchen tables of those “few thousand” families of people who face the prospect of being yanked out of their homes and civilian routines and obligations, back into the service of armed forces, to be deployed in a grim and deadly war theater that shouldn’t have been opened in the first place; not at this time, not with other, far more important national security priorities at stake.
It is, unfortunately, inevitable at this point that the war in Iraq takes — and will continue to take for many months ahead — its toll on American lives. So far, well over 1,000 U.S. soldiers have paid the ultimate price in the performance of their service and dedication to their country. But a government that places such political capital on the balance with its reckless and in my view unnecessary war in Iraq, should also have the valor to confront the public with the consequences of its deliberate choice to start a war where there was neither an imminent threat to the United States, nor a connection with the atrocities of 9/11.
When people take life-altering decisions to evade service in a war that is considered arbitrary at best, the issue of legitimacy and conscientious objection rises also; when this discussion is pushed away, with falsely crafted arguments and implied accusations of such a debate being “inopportune” and “detrimental” to national security, it’s time to look at what we are doing, among all of us. That is why I chose to reproduce this commendable work here of Leonora LaPeter and Caryn Baird, and the St. Petersburg Times staff.
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The whole article plus link to newspaper, here
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