The Definition of Sedition
Charles Johnson
Tue Mar 8, 2005 at 6:36 pm PST • Views: 225
If this isn’t sedition, does the term still have any meaning?
‘Counter-recruiters’ shadowing the military. (Hat tip: zulubaby.)
The Marines didn’t have to recruit Greg McCullough. He signed a promise to enlist last year, while he was still in high school. But now McCullough has had second thoughts, and he’s talking to a different kind of recruiter.
Jim Murphy is a “counter-recruiter,” one of a small but growing number of opponents of the Iraq war who say they want to compete with military recruiters for the hearts and minds of young people. (Related story: For Guard recruiters, a tough sell)
“I don’t tell kids not to join the military,” says Murphy, 59, a member of Veterans for Peace. “I tell them: ‘Have a plan for your future. Because if you don’t, the military has a plan for you.’ ”
Since the advent of the all-volunteer military three decades ago, the armed services have used an array of tools, from recruiting in schools to TV advertising, to successfully sell careers in the military. But with ground troops in Iraq still under fire, the Army and Marines are struggling to get enough enlistments.
The armed services need many recruits each year - the Army and Army Reserve alone need more than 100,000 - and less than 10% come knocking on the door. The rest must be recruited.
Anti-war activists such as Murphy charge that to fill their quotas, some military recruiters make promises they can’t guarantee, such as money for college or training in a particular specialty, and give misleading descriptions of military life.
Frank says: