James Webb called for re-instatement of draft during first Gulf War buildup [FLASHBACK 1990]

Los Angeles Times Archives | Nov 29, 1990. | nwrep

[nwrep]

Virginia Democratic Senate Candidate James Webb, who is a fmr. Sec. of the Navy, called for a draft during the buildup to the first Gulf War in 1990, while criticizing it. Someone should ask him now, Mr. Webb, do you support bringing back the draft, or were you wrong then?

Read below:

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Buildup in Gulf Called `a Mistake' Military: A former Navy secretary says attacking Iraq would compound the error of committing more troops to the region

Los Angeles Times (pre-1997 Fulltext). Los Angeles, Calif.

Nov 29, 1990

A former Navy secretary today called President Bush's 430,000-troop buildup in the Persian Gulf a mistake and said attacking Iraq would compound it. But the White House insisted that Saddam Hussein must know "that he could face military action at any time."

White House spokesman Marlin Fitzwater also said Bush remains reluctant to call Congress back to discuss the gulf crisis, despite recent calls for a special session.

James Webb, a former Navy secretary in the Reagan Administration, told the Senate Armed Service Committee today that "the President's mistake in sending so many troops should not be compounded by a further error in using them in a premature, unprovoked ground offensive."

Webb said the President should call for an "immediate resumption of the draft and then a declaration of war" by the Congress.

[nwrep]

Please distribute as widely as possible

[Mo1]

Didn't he just say on MTP today that he was against the draft?

[nwrep]

PING

[Experiment 6-2-6]

Didn't he just say on MTP today that he was against the draft?

He was for something before he was against it?

That's not odd. I've heard that somewhere before..

[new yorker 77]

Webb is a loser.

His peanut sized brain did not help him today.

[US Navy guy]

It is AMAZING that President Reagan appointed this POS as SECNAV. This guy is more like a Bush 41 appointee.

[Wristpin]

Yes....and the irony here is that he joined the party which has always been for a smaller military. A prostitute has more honor.

[BigBobber]

Liberals LOVE the draft. Always have, always will. Something about "Your body belongs to the state..."

[Democratshavenobrains]

That war lasted 3 days and all the Iraqis did was surrender! We really needed a draft for that, I tell ya what.

[Christopher Lincoln]

During the Vietnam War, some Democrat (I think it was Abraham Ribicoff) said that the war had made the draft something to be avoided. Why this comment didn't make him the laughingstock of the nation was more than I understood at the time. What he meant, of course, was that the liberals had been forced to pretend to be against the draft.

[Brilliant]

Webb still has not apologized for the anti-Semitic literature.

[Southack]

It's good to see a Republican play smashmouth **so well** against a Democrat. Allen is going to bash Webb's campaign into the ground.

Allen isn't flailing. He isn't just saying wild-eyed things. He isn't making up something or hoping that some new scandal will sink Webb...instead he is factually attacking Webb at every turn, in the news, on the internet, everywhere.

[no dems]

Please distribute as widely as possible

Especially to folk in VA and folk who know folks in VA. It would be worth copying and pasting onto your e-mail format and getting the word out.

[no dems]

A prostitute has more honor.

Hey, I resent you making a comparison between Mr. Webb and prostitutes. At least prostitutes are hard workers they tell you what your getting for your money beforehand. Unlike the Democrats, you know prostitutes are gonna screw you.

[no dems]

BTW, in my Post #14 I omitted: "Sarc."

[Corin Stormhands]

Yes, he did.

[philman_36]

Someone should ask him now, Mr. Webb, do you support bringing back the draft, or were you wrong then?
He was asked something along those lines yesterday on Meet the Press.
MTP Transcript
MR. RUSSERT: Let me ask one question on troops. When you were last on this program in 1985, you said that conscription, the draft, was good for the military, the country, and the individual. Would you vote to reinstate the draft?
MR. WEBB: I don’t believe that this—right now, this country needs a draft. What I’ve done—one of the things I’ve done is I’ve proposed a 5 percent tax break for all people who serve honorably in the military. And one of the reasons that I have done that...

[Corin Stormhands]

His peanut sized brain did not help him today.

It's not just his brain.

Rumor has it he had to sit on two pillows to match George Allen's height.

The video clip at the first (Webb endorsing Allen in 2000) showed their difference in stature.

[8mmMauser]

When the guy came in to the Reagan administration, he hid his liberalism behind his hero status. He fooled a lot of people at the time. I tried to out him at the time but nobody took me serious because of his overwhelming status as a war hero.

[ReagansRaiders]

We've got the story up on The A-Team now.

http://allens-a-team.com/2006/09/18/webb-opposed-1990-gulf-war-build-up-called-to-reinstate-the-draft/