A Ukrainian official said Tuesday that U.S. politicians are pressuring Ukraine to lower the minimum age of 25 to 18 to make more young men available to fight.
“Once this information is out, I can assure you: American politicians from both parties are putting pressure on President Zelensky to explain why there is no mobilization of 18- to 25-year-olds in Ukraine. The argument of our partners is that when the US fought in Vietnam, people were drafted from the age of 19, “Serhiy Leshchenko, senior adviser to President Volodymyr Zelensky, wrote in Telegram.
This is from Dave DeCamp, “US Politicians Push Ukraine to Raise Minimum Draft Age to 18,” Antiwar.comOctober 15, 2024.
And Leshchenko names (or, at least, one word):
Just before Zelensky signed the bill reducing his term to 25 years, he was visited by Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), who called for young Ukrainians to be sent to the front. “I would hope that those who are eligible to serve in the Ukrainian army will join. “I can’t believe it’s been 27 years,” Graham said. “You’re fighting for your life, so you should be serving – not at 25 or 27. We need more people on the line.”
The freedom to choose your career is very valuable. I know that many of my libertarian colleagues think that the First Amendment is our most important amendment. But I think the thirteenth amendment is very important. (Although I agree that that Amendment has not been tested since 1918 and that the Supreme Court changed the test.)
I hate to see American politicians advocating that in countries where people are more free than we are, the governments of those countries should reduce that freedom even more. As one famous American politician likes to say, “Mind your own damn business.”
Source link