Military Draft Coming back?

[thechoson]

There are whispers that the military draft is being considered, with things going the way they are in Iraq.  What are everyone's feelings on this?

[jgruber]

I will be most interested to see how things would play out in the draft regarding deferments for students and how women would figure in the draft.  If you draft young men, won't you have to draft young women, too?

[NerdyLaw]

I think that I better get my ass in law school as to avoid the draft! Seriously, we are in the minority as far as countries that require compulsory military service. I have friends from Singapore and Europe who were required to spend 2 years in the army. It would help people to see that there is a price to security and maybe reinforce patriotism. I DO think that we should really think about doing this during peacetime.

"I have neither the time nor the inclination to explain myself to a man who rises and sleeps under the blanket of the very freedom I provide, then questions the manner in which I provide it."
   - Col. Nathan R. Jessup

[jgruber]

I served in the Army for seven years.  I hated it and they were less than thrilled to have me.  In spite of that, I agree about two years of compulsory service. 

I think that I better get my ass in law school as to avoid the draft! Seriously, we are in the minority as far as countries that require compulsory military service. I have friends from Singapore and Europe who were required to spend 2 years in the army. It would help people to see that there is a price to security and maybe reinforce patriotism. I DO think that we should really think about doing this during peacetime.

"I have neither the time nor the inclination to explain myself to a man who rises and sleeps under the blanket of the very freedom I provide, then questions the manner in which I provide it."
   - Col. Nathan R. Jessup

[nathanielmark]

I think I am old enough now (28) that i dont have to worry about it.  i think its unfortunate because iraq was an elective war that was a huge expense in terms of lives and dollars. it did nothing to make america a safer place.  if we are able to regain the level of stability in in iraq that was there before the war, i would consider that a victory at this point. 

the tragedy is that people are too apathetic to  sort thru the BS that the administration is feeding us and will probably put W back in the white house for another 4 years of floundering.  i really think we (americans) are becoming our own worst enemies at this point, thru ignorance and apathy

[jgruber]

i really think we (americans) are becoming our own worst enemies at this point, thru ignorance and apathy

Of course, we're our own worst enemy.  We're the best at everything!

But elective wars are like elective surgery.  Expensive, unnecessary and likely to leave nasty scars.  I'm with you on this one.  War -- any war -- is a failure of civilizaton.  The greatest and most powerful nation on earth -- yeah, that's us -- could find no other way to address our problems than to kill people.  Shame on us.

[NerdyLaw]

What can cure apathy besides hash reality? Whether W or Kerry makes it to the White house, the Congress must approve a draft. The President can not do that on his own. Even if they did institute a draft I would bet that a vast majority of the draftees would serve logistical or support roles. The fighting would probably be left to the professionals.

I do believe that we need to get our asses out of Iraq ASAP. The people hate us for being there and they will hate us when we leave but I would rather they hate us without killing us. Democracy and equal rights is an impossible dream in the middle east (Israel being th ONLY exception). It is a blanket generization, but the people in that region can not work together to embrace a common goal of security and equality. It can not and should not be our job to create a structure where that can happen.

[jgruber]

Hear, hear. 

But I'm not sure we would have to pass a law to institute the draft.  There may be one on the books already just waiting for executive activation.  But then....

What can cure apathy besides hash reality? Whether W or Kerry makes it to the White house, the Congress must approve a draft. The President can not do that on his own. Even if they did institute a draft I would bet that a vast majority of the draftees would serve logistical or support roles. The fighting would probably be left to the professionals.

I do believe that we need to get our asses out of Iraq ASAP. The people hate us for being there and they will hate us when we leave but I would rather they hate us without killing us. Democracy and equal rights is an impossible dream in the middle east (Israel being th ONLY exception). It is a blanket generization, but the people in that region can not work together to embrace a common goal of security and equality. It can not and should not be our job to create a structure where that can happen.

[thechoson]

Ok, here is my opinion.  All this talk that we need MORE soldiers over there seems wrong.  We had a massive amount of combat troops in Vietnam, and they just served as cannon fodder for the guerillas.  I actually argue it would be in our best interest to REDUCE the size of the military, and transform it.
The war in Iraq was won.  The peace is hard to secure.  We won the war with like 150,000 troops, much less than the Gulf War.  It's because we have such awesome technical superiority, through smart bombs and things of that sort, that we can win wars on technology and air power alone (think Kosovo). These are going to be the wars of the future.  Yet our military is still bloated and massive, with soldiers all over the place in a Cold War footing.  Donald Rumsfeld actually has addressed this issue, wanting to make the military smaller and quicker.

Wars of the past, huge tank battles with massive amount of soldiers, ala WWII, was the contingency during the Cold War.  Yet that never came into being because of nuclear deterrence.  We are unlikely to fight a huge war of attrition with a great power, because nuclear weapons would come into play.  The only real danger would be North Korea, but we should rely more on the 660,000 South Korean infantry who are trained almost exlusively to deal with a land invasion from North Korea.  That coupled with massive American firepower would easily defeat the North Koreans.

So, reduce the size of the military.  Withdraw some from Korea, Germany, Japan.  REPLACE them with elite forces.  Spend more money on training fewer soliders, and pay them more so they become even more professionalized.  These type of elite, commando type of soldiers would be much more effective in rooting out insurgents and providing security in places like Iraq, then just having 200,000 soldiers walking around so guerillas can play target practice.  Wars will be won with superior air power and technology anyways, so it's useless to actually have a BIGGER military, at least in my opinion.

[tahoetahoe]

I agree that we have no business being in Iraq, but pulling out now would be a logicial nightmare and a grave tactical error.  How would it look to go running away from a region with our tail between our legs because people start dying...as if we didn't forsee that as a consequence.  Did we really think we were going to be in and out in 2 months?  That was obviously not going to be the case.

We need to build more of an international coalition to lessen the burden to our soldiers and citizens.  The fact remains that the U.S. is more interested in hoarding the spoils of war then building an international coalition.

My understanding is that being in school may no longer be sufficient to dodge the draft.  I am going to be 26, though, so I know I don't have to worry. 

With regard to compulsory service...it seems like a good idea on the face of it.  But, how would many of you feel having to fight in some of these b.s. wars...is that freedom?  If we were truly fighting to prevent global oppression or really prevent terrorism, then maybe it would seem like a good idea.  We must not forget, we are there for oil...the killing of hundreds of thousands of Iraqi citizens is not why we are there...if it was, we could stand to save a lot more folks being killed in Africa.