We Americans are no strangers to hypocrisy, but we're currently in a fix that's beginning to smell bad. It's true that the open society of the Western world is in jeopardy from people who want a closed society and are willing to have their children commit suicide to get it. It's also true that we pretend we can deal with this threat by casual self-serving attitudes about who should fight our wars.
Fighting any war without the public sacrifice of a universal draft is an unjust misery for military personnel and their families. Really, if war is necessary, if you want war, risk yourself or your children and grandchildren in combat. Otherwise your war is an exercise in hypocrisy.
The war-hawks on the Right never want their own children to fight the wars they drum up -- they want their wars fought by the children in other parts of town.
But the Right is at the moment not in the White House, and I'm uneasy about what's in the minds of the White House people. Will we really continue to fight what they tell us is a needed war without public sacrifice? It's not only hypocrisy, it's a serious political mistake that may ultimately cause Obama to be a one-term president. Without the Left, Obama's base is weak, and with a weak base he may be finished in 2012.
What this country needs is a test of will about the war in Afghanistan, and the proper test of will is a push by the White House and Congress to institute a universal draft by lottery. The draft can be small. Let's find out if the American people are willing to put at risk 50,000 of their children a year to go to war in Afghanistan. Universal, across the board, rich and poor alike, no deferments. If the answer is yes, then fine, we're in a popular war and we will do our best to win it. If the answer is no, then as a democracy we should forget about Afghanistan and suffer the consequences, if any at all.
Our politicians, of course, do not want a replay of Viet Nam, the war with a draft that had millions of our children in protest that they could see no reason to risk their lives in a far-away jungle fighting against people who were really no direct threat to America. It turned out those kids were right -- Viet Nam was a useless bust and everyone knows it.
The sad fact is that politicians tend to be short-sighted imbeciles, and at the moment many of us are unfortunately getting the idea that the current crowd of politicians in the White House is not much different from what we've had before -- a gang who think there's no difference between governing the country and running an election campaign. Many of us supported Obama with all our hearts -- but now our hearts are being broken into pieces by the reality of what politicians are all about.
We need a draft, public sacrifice in all quarters. All else is hypocrisy.
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Clearly you haven't thought this out at all and in the end would put the military itself and those it's supposed to protect in more danger in the interest of fairness to a few. It's nice to have ideals and compassion, but not if the means don't justify the ends.
The economically-challenged always have and always will fight and die in wars, on both sides.
So while I agree that the pain should be shared equally in a Democracy, it really isn't how things actually work.
Thought you woulda picked that up somewhere along the way...
We haven't _done_ a draft, because modern wars can't be won by throwing untrained bodies at them, but it's not abolished.
The US military, in terms of function and mission, needs to be an all-volunteer force. There is no constructive place to put draftees in the US military where they can meaningfully contribute to the mission, and their presence would threaten morale and discipline.
The introduction of draftees into the military, especially at the front lines, would decrease the effectiveness of our forces, increase casualties, and vastly increase the nation's risk of a dangerous international incident.
The leadership and discipline needed to effectively fight wars from Vietnam onward were more than draftees could be expected to bring.
My particular generation (HS grad 1983) had the benefit of NOT having manditory military or community service. We had the luck to be raised and of age to go and fight a war when there were no major external conflicts to be seen. Grenada, Panama and the tail end of a Cold War didn't need the large call to service we seem to need now - IF we are to continue down our current path.
It almost sounds a bit self-serving for me - a mid-40s educated, married white guy with no kids to say this, but we really should have some sort of public service (military, educational, or community-based) program for our youth.
I think we all would be the better for it it many ways - and not just because a call to war would mean we all had some of our fat in the fire.
No loop holes, no outs, no Dick Cheney better things to do.
Out of high school, and into uniform.
For those who think this is too stiff, maybe we should offer a Heinlein-esque alternative: You can serve your country and win the privilege of full citizenship, or you can sit back and let others sacrifice and give up your ability to vote, hold public office, own property, and the like.
We used to say Freedom Ain't Free. It's time for the majority of Americans to pay up!!
President Obama wants all American Troops out of Afganistan.
How can he leave several million people without the basics in security ?
Sure glad people who think like you are no longer running the country.
Yet another old man deciding how we should waste the youth of today.
Another point is that there are only so many draftees that a modern military can use. If we were to simply have an armed horde that was much less effective per person (more casualties and less success, in the same war) we could have a preponderance of "entry-level" personnel and the draft might work. If we want a high percentage of the forces to be have several years of experience and training, able to effectively use powerful and expenseive equipment, we will still be depenedent on a lot of volunteers unless the draft actully were to force some into a long term enlistments.
Our wars would end overnight.
Equality is a b*tch.
Equality is a b*tch.
You can argue effectively that one way to stop a war is to have a draft that will wake up those apathetic individuals whose children would indiscriminately be subject to the draft but you never consider the ramifications of the people actually drafted and forced into military "servitude".
Do not forget that these are human beings...not just children of politically uncaring, non-sacrificing, or apathetic parents. These are human beings with lives of their own and you are, in the context of those individuals, glibly suggesting their lives be risked, at worse, for political purposes.
Please do not forget the trees when you are discussing the forest.
While you're off "voting" against the war (which you can't do anyway) or marching on Washington to protest, these draftees are going to war and dying and for what? So their parents will say, "Oh, wait a minute...they're talking about my kids too! I think it's time we voted against the war?"
I agree with the purpose but not the strategy. My point is that some kid, poor or not will most certainly pay the price for that parental apathy on the battlefield. That's fair to that child? That's ok if it ends the war?
You seem to think that the moment there's a draft, they'll be a protest and a new vote and the war will be over a few days later. Take a walk by the Nam Memorial and think about the thousands of names of young men and women who died. Tell them how their deaths catalyzed the end of the war for the apathetic. I'm sure they'll feel it was worth it...
Let me guess...you're also not of draft age?
Draft Boards exist to keep the local weathy from rushing off and joining the military.
The idea being to keep the next generation of leaders out of the military or make sure they get jobs in the military that does not risk their life,