HONOLULU -- GOP Congressional candidate Dalton Tanonaka is criticizing Hawaii's Senior U.S. Sen. Dan Inouye for saying it is likely the draft will be reinstated if President George W. Bush is re-elected, while U.S. Rep. Neil Abercrombie is co-sponsoring a bill to renew the draft.
As the Iraq war drags on, the Pentagon increasingly relies on National Guard and reserve troops to fill in. Inouye cautioned it will only get worse, predicting an immediate re-instatement of the draft if President Bush is re-elected.
"I just don't know where our congressional delegation is standing. I thought I heard the senior senator say 'Don't vote for George Bush if you don't want to return to the draft.' And yet the congressman is saying 'Yes, let's revive the draft. I am co-sponsoring legislation," Tanonaka said.
He said it is wrong to use the draft issue politically to scare voters about president and the war.
Abercrombie was back in his Washington office. He told KITV 4 News that there is noting new or political about this. He said for the last six years he and other House Republicans and Democrats have been raising the possibility of the need to return to the draft.
"I don't think it is right in a democracy to expect a certain portion of the population to make the sacrifices while we stand on the sidelines and cheer. That's not right. It's not fair," Abercrombie said.
Abercrombie's national service bill calls for mandatory military or civilian service for men and women between 18 and 26 years old for a two-year stint.
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