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Lt. Gen Douglas Lute, President Bush's new military adviser, said yesterday that because of frequent tours of duty for US soldiers in Iraq and Afghan, it is worth considering a return to the military draft.
I saw some stats within the week that stated that a majority of soldiers in Iraq have been there *since the beginning* of the war and occupation.
How do you feel a military draft would play with American citizens? How would it effect the election of 11-08 other than completely destroying the Republican Party? Would the White House, with Bush in it, be burned to the ground by disgusted citizens?
I don't think Bush would sign on for a return to the military draft which was discontinued in 1973.
I think the Republicans are hoping a Democrat takes over the White House in 1-2009 so Republicans can blame the Democrats for losing the Iraq War which Bush lost by mismanagement, thereby saving the Republican Party.
#1: Tillman wasn't fragged. He was hit by friendly fire. Fragging is when a lower-ranking soldier DELIBERATELY kills an officer in revenge for some real or imagined offense.
Here's my take on the idea of a draft or compulsory service.
I am against it.
There are places where it works. Israel is the most notable. Every kid in Israel must do copulaory government service from the ages of 18-21. Males are almost all in the military, and females can either do military service or some other form of government service. But compulsory service is required and the system works well there.
But there is a different mentality in Israel than in the USA. First of all, Israel is a much smaller country with a much smaller population. They need every single body they can get for military service. Every single soldier is vital, and they all know it. They know their own survival and the survival of their families is dependent on their individual service. And so, every young recruit knows that he is a necessary part of the whole machine. That makes him feel as if he is a part of the machine, rather than just some useless spare part.
In the USA, we have a military that is 1.4 million strong just with volunteers. If someone here were forced to do service, he really would see himself as just a spare part. As far as he is concerned, he has no real purpose in the military... he's just biding his time until he gets out. If he can just keep his head down and survive, he'll be able to get out in a couple of years and move on with his life. He will deliberately avoid any risks, and if possible, any serious work. The attitude becomes one of avoidance of as much responsibility as possible. He has no real stake in the system, since neither his personal survival, nor the survival of his family, have any real reliance on him doing his job. Thus, he grows to see his military service as an interruption of his life, possibly a danger that he never wanted or wished for, a disciplinary system that he never volunteered for and does not want to follow, and his moral falls. So does the moral of his peers.
The mindset between Israel and the USA in terms of compulsory military service is different because the countries face different situations in terms of size, military risk, economies, and general outlook. So what works well for Israel, in terms of compulsory service, would not work well in the USA. And even ISrael has problems with moral of its soldiers that have to be dealt with.
Let's put this another way: which would you prefer to have protecting you? A soldier who volunteered to be where he is, loves his country enough to give up a portion of his life to serve that country, and is politically or personally motivated to do his best on the job? Or the guy who is there because he's forced to be there, doesn't really want to be there, doesn't give a damn about doing his job, and wishes to avoid as much work and danger as possible until his compulsory service is complete, and whose moral is down the tubes?
I'd choose the first. But perhaps others would make a different choice.
You make two assumptions. One I agree with. The other I don't. Let's start with the latter. You assume that conscripts don't fight. Our own revolutionary war was fought entirely with conscripts. I think we won.
You suggest that young Israeli’s must do copulatory service. I wholeheartedly agree. They do. They surly do.
Our own revolutionary war was fought entirely with conscripts
. No it wasn't . There was a professional force led by Washington supplemented by militias .
Our history beyond WWII where there was universal acceptance to the need for conscription shows that the country generally opposes the draft. Lincoln as an example had to send troops into NYC in the middle of the civil war to quell a very violent anti-draft riot.
What are you talking about? Which part of our forces in the Revolutionary War were conscripts? Was it the Minutemen, who were all volunteers? Or was it the "professional" army led by Washington, which was made up of volunteers. Those who didn't wish to fight, didn't. And those who were British loyalists certainly didn't. What the heck are you talking about? Where did you get the idea that the Revolutionary war was fought by conscripts?
And you clearly didn't read my post about Israel's compulsory service and WHY IT WORKS THERE and WHY IT WOULD NOT WORK HERE.
Furthermore, do you think that Israel's system is really a "representative military"? Are all the Israeli Arabs serving in the military? Are all the Neturei Karta serving? Think again.
I think the problem with conscription is that most people don't care about what's going on in Iraq or Afghanistan, they just want to get on with their lives, grow old and die happy!
The difference with the World Wars and places like Isreal is that the war is on your doorstep. There is a very real cause for you to fight for.
Plus, propaganda doesn't work as well as it used to ... people know that there is a high chance they will die when they get shipped off to the far reaches of the world ... and for what? Their country? Freedom? Speak to most 18 year olds about that choice and they'll express their views quite openly!
And the others, they'll join up and fight for what they believe in!
I've seen conscription forces in action, they're not great! The one's that want to be there work hard, the others that don't ... well ... don't!
Let me put it this way, if you were forced to do a job you hated but knew in 2 years you were going to be able to leave, how much effort would you put in?!
As a percentage, children of elected officials who serve in the military are approximately twice the national averages: 4% for elected officials' children as opposed to 2% of the rest of the population.
And as pointed out earlier, not everybody is just going to be "a guy with a gun." There is far too much happening behind the scenes to list here. Besides reluctantly paying taxes, is there nothing else to be done to support your country without thinking you're compelled to be part of a killing machine?
The USCG has oceanographic research vessles and buoy tenders, looking out for seaotters and errant boaters.
The American or International Red Cross is always looking for more hands to help. Don't think your contribution can't be of value to others.
Many tend to think of these things are a given, but people serve many ways. We need to open your eyes and your minds.
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