Ramsey Clark’s radical left wing International Action Center will be hosting a conference tomorrow at Public School 41 in Manhattan, to fight a nonexistent draft and work out effective strategies for sedition: National Conference Against the Draft & Military Recruiting. (Hat tip: NC.)

National Conference Against the Draft & Military Recruiting

Saturday, April 16
12 Noon — 6 pm
PS 41 in Manhattan
116 W. 11th St.

Participants will include:

Carl Webb, member of the Army National Guard who refused orders to deploy to Iraq

Hadas Their, City College student who was arrested for protesting against military recruiters on campus

Jeff Paterson, former Marine who refused to deploy to Iraq during the first Gulf War

Larry Holmes, organizer with the Troops Out Now Coalition, Vietnam-era resister

Monique Code, antiwar activist, Desert Storm veteran

Representatives from youth organizations involved in counter-recruiting and draft resistance.

As the occupation of Iraq continues and the Bush Administration contemplates new military actions, the Pentagon is finding itself overstretched and unable to meet recruiting quotas. Of the troops currently deployed in Iraq, 40% are members of the National Guard or Reserves, leading Lt. Gen. James Helmly to warn that the Army Reserve “is rapidly degenerating into a ‘broken’ force.” These factors have led many to believe that the return of the draft is likely.

In response, youth and students across the country are organizing to fight the draft and drive military recruiters off of their campus.

On Saturday, April 16, youth, veterans, and anti-draft organizers from across the U.S. will gather for a Conference on Draft Resistance and Counter Recruiting. The conference, to be held at P.S. 41 in Manhattan, will feature draft resistance organizers, community activists, and students involved in counter-recruiting work. Workshops will focus on concrete actions and organizing tools to fight the draft, to organize resistance in the event of the return of conscription, and to remove military recruiters and ROTC programs from campuses.

“We have received enormous interest in taking action to stop the draft and fight military recruiting,” said Dustin Langley, a Navy Veteran and organizer with No Draft, No Way. “Young people are already under attack, with tuition increases, a lack of health care, and cuts in financial aid. Now they face the possibility of being dragged away from their homes to fight in a war based on lies. On April 16, we will be developing definite strategies to oppose the military machine that is targeting young people for death and destruction.”