Disturbing rumors

I've recently seen more articles (one in Yes! and one in Utne) about the administration's attempts to start rebuilding the infrastructure for the draft. The article showcased in Utne is actually from the Guardian Unlimited. There is another article at Salon and here's another one in the Sierra Times. Fritz Hollings has sponsored a bill to officially reinstate the draft. What I find interesting is that it appears that the administration is trying to sneak this rebuilding in disguised as (initially) voluntary draft boards.

Here's something written by Rep Charles Rangel saying he introduced legislation to reinstate the draft also. Maybe he and Hollings are buddies in this. Here's a response from Robert Stewart that addresses some other issues around the draft - esp issues surrounding the poor and minorities. Another good point - poor people can't afford for one of the breadwinners in the family to be shipped off or get killed. It's proving tough enough for middle classers to provide on the National Guard stipend, let alone a family that's already struggling.

Here's an article that I *totally* disagreed with, as it argues for the draft, but it does present several arguments for the Reinstate the Draft faction. An argument from the Christian Science monitor that also supports reinstituting the draft. Surprising because the article opens with a brief discussion of Americorps - a voluntary, national program that directs youth efforts to provide service to the less fortunate. Looking at the argument presented in this piece, it seems to me that the writer's ideas about promoting youth service and a sense of responsibility are good but why should those qualities be directed toward a military perspective?

From a different perspective, here's an essay from a senior at the Ayn Rand Institute. I'm a big fan of much of her work and I like the way this particular essay addresses only one theme - who should be the one to decide how a person's life is lived? Of course, her philosophy is based on the idea that our only moral obligation is to our own happiness and our own productivity so this is not a surprising theme. This doesn't specifically address the military draft but I don't think conscripted service in general is anybody's idea of a happy destiny. If you're interested in the idea of individual rights, you may also want to read a bit about political philosopher John Rawls. In a nutshell, he believed that individual rights were of paramount importance in any society...

I'm sure people from the Vietnam era began thinking about this stuff when Bush first sent in the troops but it just never occured to me that this could happen. I vaguely remember hoping my brother wouldn't be drafted but I later found out the draft was long abolished before he was 18. The upshot is, I don't have nearly the emotional attachment to the draft that others do so I have no particularly good feedback.

I guess there are two sides to the story, especially considering that some countries make it a requirement for all of their citizens to serve a certain amount of military time. However, I don't believe in the military and war in general so I would oppose the idea on general principle. Something I do consider interesting is what so many others have commented on - the fact that the young adults of our country are the ones who suffer the heaviest casualties under draft conditions.

On its face, the argument for the draft may seem solid but not if you take into consideration the long term good of the nation. Maybe drafting in a bunch of young kids seems like the answer to plug the bleeding hole of Iraq right now, but who's going to carry forward the life of our nation if all the young people are dead? I feel there are many flaws in the argument for the draft and I'm sure they've been covered thoroughly elsewhere.

If recruiting and retention are proving problematic for the military, shouldn't our gov't be interested in finding out why? I don't think it's because young people feel less patriotic, I think it's because our younger generation is becoming less and less interested in pursuing war as a primary course of action. I wonder if the Peace Corps membership has been growing? How about other humanitarian aid groups and programs? What about NGO's - are they attracting more of America's young?

Here's an interesting quote from Rumsfeld - it will be fascinating to see how he makes his inevitable about-face on this one:

At a regular press briefing, Rumsfeld said the administration had no plan to re-implement a draft, saying "there is no need for it at all."

"The disadvantages of using compulsion to bring into the armed forces the men and women needed are notable. The disadvantages to the individuals so brought in are notable," Rumsfeld said, noting that a draft would add no value to the armed services.

"And it seems to me that the way we're currently organized and operating is vastly preferable," he said, referring to the all-volunteer system.

This quote came from enorth.com