The Draft could be here soon

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/afp/20040420/ts_alt_afp/us_iraq_military_draft_040420172423

A senior Republican lawmaker said that deteriorating security in Iraq (news - web sites) may force the United States to reintroduce the military draft.

“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.

Right. So you start the draft up again and kill all our poor ghetto folks. It’s compassionate conservatism at its’ best.

(Some of ya’ll might be able to put your 1337 FPS skills to good use at last! Fun!)

It won’t happen. It’s the most sure-fire ticket out of the White House that Bush could ever find, so doubtless he’ll do anything in his power to squash this idea before it goes anywhere.

…but assuming he’s re-elected?

You’ve got that right. Besides, if they need more bodies they can always hire more ex-National Guard troops as contractors. Mo’ money for the military-industrial complex and lower official casualty numbers. What’s not to love?

We’ll see. I’m convinced that it’s only by the virtue of public apathy that the man is not facing the same sort of legal scrutiny–investigations, impeachment proceedings–that plagued Clinton. But I’m sure that could change very quickly the moment he finds a way to make his mess in Iraq the personal problem of every American citizen. Like with a draft, for instance.

I’d love to find out if the Pentagon has been demanding more manpower to the administration. I mean, surely a man of Bush’s principles would, under such conditions, support a reinstatement of the draft now rather than after the elections. Surely.

The Bush twins should go first.

Dirt! Ah believe you missed the point of the right honorable Senator! When he says “spread the burden of military service in Iraq more equitably among various social strata” he ain’t talkin about drafting rich kids! :lol:

Actually, that is his stated intention. Hagel’s a pretty good guy. That said, I suspect he’s making more a rhetorical point than a serious proposal. Fact is most line troops do tend to be from poor backgrounds even in the volunteer military. They don’t generally have rich daddies to put them through college so they do it themselves this way or plan to make a career out of it.

Dunno, relying on presidents to make politically popular decisions on war rather than take their presidiency and the country down in flames with them doesn’t have a very good track record. Remember Nixon’s “secret plan” to end the war? And how it turns out he was discussing nuking the North with Kissinger?

Isn’t there a stong correllation between the “liberalism” of th 60s/70s and the presence of a national draft, suggesting that America starts to give a shit about national policy over religion and patriotic jingo (mainstays of the modern Republican party) when their kids are at risk?

Midnight Son’s even more retarded than we all thought. I guess he missed the fact that this proposal was made jointly with a democrat and its goal is the exact opposite of what MS suggests AND that I gurantee the white house opposes such a policy AND that this was the favorite PR stunt of psycho dems during the build up to war because they thought if there was a draft no one would ever support war. Didn’t take some people long to forget all about their draft card burning days and throw their weight behind a (still) unjust institution.

Didn’t this happen already last year?

Grenz, ah believe yo insult was uncalled for. Now, if you plan to believe what politicians SAY rather than what they MEAN, I guess that makes YOU a retard.

Just once, I’d love to hear the comeback “I guess that makes YOU a retard” in a Presidential debate.

We have any military folks here? I tried playing the “Draft imminent if Bush gets re-elected” card in a conversation last night, and a veteran laughed it off saying we had plenty of folks in the military already and that a draft wouldn’t be necessary. Just looking for corroboration on that theory.

Ex-military here. We would have enough troops IF we weren’t currently trying to secure the entire planet instead of just a country or two. For global hegemony, we don’t have enough.