Powell criticizes Vietnam-era draft avoidance
WILLIAM C. MANN
WASHINGTON — Secretary of State Colin Powell, once the country's highest-ranking soldier, reaffirmed his distaste today for Vietnam War draft policies that allowed sons of the powerful to avoid combat.The year that Bush joined the National Guard, both Powell and John Kerry, now Bush's Democratic rival for the presidency, were young officers among hundreds of thousands of American troops in Vietnam.In his 1995 autobiography, My American Journey, Powell characterized draft policies during most of the Vietnam era as "an antidemocratic disgrace.""I am angry that so many sons of the powerful and well-placed managed to wangle slots in Reserve and National Guard units,"he wrote. Asked about that and Bush's military career on Fox News Sunday, Powell said: "I disagree with the policies that were in place at that time. I didn't think it was the right set of policies for the challenge the nation was facing.On ABC's This Week, Powell added: "Yes, that system was disturbing to me. That's why I was such a supporter of the voluntary army when it came. I was also a supporter of cleaning up the draft system, so that you couldn't duck the draft."Questions have arisen about the Vietnam service of both Bush and Kerry. CBS' 60 Minutes aired interviews and documents last week that indicated Bush, whose father was a Texas congressman at the time, was given preferential treatment in a National Guard unit and was lax in fulfilling his duties late in his six-year obligation.
source: http://www.thestar.com
WASHINGTON — Secretary of State Colin Powell, once the country's highest-ranking soldier, reaffirmed his distaste today for Vietnam War draft policies that allowed sons of the powerful to avoid combat.The year that Bush joined the National Guard, both Powell and John Kerry, now Bush's Democratic rival for the presidency, were young officers among hundreds of thousands of American troops in Vietnam.In his 1995 autobiography, My American Journey, Powell characterized draft policies during most of the Vietnam era as "an antidemocratic disgrace.""I am angry that so many sons of the powerful and well-placed managed to wangle slots in Reserve and National Guard units,"he wrote. Asked about that and Bush's military career on Fox News Sunday, Powell said: "I disagree with the policies that were in place at that time. I didn't think it was the right set of policies for the challenge the nation was facing.On ABC's This Week, Powell added: "Yes, that system was disturbing to me. That's why I was such a supporter of the voluntary army when it came. I was also a supporter of cleaning up the draft system, so that you couldn't duck the draft."Questions have arisen about the Vietnam service of both Bush and Kerry. CBS' 60 Minutes aired interviews and documents last week that indicated Bush, whose father was a Texas congressman at the time, was given preferential treatment in a National Guard unit and was lax in fulfilling his duties late in his six-year obligation.
source: http://www.thestar.com
<< Home