Senator says US may need compulsory service to boost Iraq force
With the military running low on available manpower, I suppose it was only a matter of time before someone mentioned the possibility of dragging us back to the bad ol' days. Yes, we're back to talking about the possibility of a draft once again. For those of us who'd thought we'd learned our lesson from the Vietnam experience, guess what? Those who do not understand history really ARE doomed to repeat it.
"There's not an American ... that doesn't understand what we are engaged in today and what the prospects are for the future," Senator Chuck Hagel told a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on post-occupation Iraq.
"Why shouldn't we ask all of our citizens to bear some responsibility and pay some price?" Hagel said, arguing that restoring compulsory military service would force "our citizens to understand the intensity and depth of challenges we face."
The Nebraska Republican added that a draft, which was ended in the early 1970s, would spread the burden of military service in Iraq more equitably among various social strata.
"Those who are serving today and dying today are the middle class and lower middle class," he observed.
Of course, lest we forget, the problem with the draft the first time around was that the moneyed and influential elites generally weren't the ones doing the fighting and dying. There were simply too many loopholes in the system for someone with the power, influence (et tu, George W. Bush??), or money to exploit.
The all-volunteer military has worked very well since the end of the draft. It's only now that the Bush Administration has completely mismanaged the war in Iraq that Republicans are now looking for more grist for their war mill. Are we to reward the Administration's misjudgements and incompetence with yet more sacrificial lambs?
IF we are to seriously institute re-instating the draft, I am highly skeptical of any plan put forward by Republicans.
Being who they are, Republicans are more likely than not to craft a Selective Service system that provides significant loopholes for the sons and daughters of wealth and privilege. In order for a draft to have any credibility at all, service must be required of all- regardless of one's place on the social and economic food chain. It is only fair that the burden be shared equally. Of course, those who ARE wealthy and priviliged are the ones who donate heavily to Republican coffers, and they're certainly not going to want their sons and daughters on some dusty side street in Fallujah.
And what of those who for moral or religious reasons are opposed to war- or simply to this war? Shouldn't those people's beliefs be treated as legitimate? IF we are to re-institute the draft, not only should the system be fair and loophole-free, but it should also have a national service component. Young people should have the ability and the opportunity to serve their country while not being forced to engage in behaviors that run counter to their beliefs. Of course, the question is how to fairly administer and referee a system of this nature, but with all of the pacifist and peace groups out there, I'm sure we could come up with something.
I am highly skeptical of this Republican Congress' ability to cobble together a fair and equitable Selective Service system. If Chuck Hagel can put together a system that would require his son or daughter to serve, we might have something to discuss. Still, having a 21-year-old and a 16-year-old to be concerned about, you can bet that I'm very much against the idea of re-instating the draft.
How about we deal with the incompetence, mismanagement, and deception that got us into this mess in the first place. Why deal with the symptoms by forcing more young men and women to become potential sacrifices for George W. Bush's election campaign?
