“…wants to lose it…”?
Are you quite sure that is precisely how you would like to word that?
Does anyone remember Rep. Charles Rangel (D-NY) proposing the draft in order to choke support for the war? The NeoCons are crazy, not dumb… well, not “bring-back-the-draft” dumb, are they?
Maybe they have more sinister things in mind. Get Jello Biafra on the horn pronto.
Ain’t gonna be no draft, folks, so don’t get yer dander up. I can’t see any type of majority or plurality or what-havey-ou supporting a draft unless we were in another World War type situation.
Question, though: Wouldn’t an act of Congress be required to bring the draft back? I’d be surprised if it could be done by executive order. Makes for good partisan ranting, though: Evil Bush will draft your sons and daughters!
I will personally eat a live goldfish if George Bush reinstates the draft. Not gonna happen, people. Think for a minute. Does the MILITARY want a draft? No, conscript draftees are worse than useless on today’s battlefield. The military is commited to a professional force. Remember Rumsfeld’s comments on how usefull draftees were in Vietnam?
I can’t see any administration instituting a draft without a preliminary step or two, like a national service program (like France’s, ironically) where people choose military or other service for a set period. Suddenly, oops, the military slots are wide open and there’s a massive reduction in non-military slots…
Before dismissing this as the ravings of a bunch of Bush haters, I wonder if there isn’t something to this.
ISTM that Bush is slowly destroying the National Guard/Reserves. Some of these part-time soldiers have been deployed three times in little more than 2 years. Ten of thousands of them will be stationed in Iraq for at least a year, if not more.
How many of these Guardsmen/Reserves will re-enlist when their present terms expire over the next few years? How many retiring active duty servicemembers are going to think twice about joining the Reserves for extra money? I think a lot of them are going to find the burden that has been unfairly laid upon them and their families to be too great for another commitment.
Plus one would think Bush’s corporate masters are beginning to feel they are being unfairly burdened by the terms of the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA). http://www.esgr.org/employers/thelaw.asp
Bush hater, nothing. I could be the world’s biggest Bush lover and still think this is absolutely, without a doubt, the dumbest idea I have ever heard.
Fact is, every single person in the military wants to be there. If they don’t, believe me, it make take some time, but they are definitely shown the gate. I’ve seen it happen countless times, with significant damage done to morale and discipline. We don’t want or need people who don’t want to be with us.
Why, then, would we want the “Hell no, we won’t go” crowd to be taken against their will and put in uniform to work and fight beside us? Bad idea. Very, very bad idea.
I will. I will remain until they throw me out or I hit 60. I love my job, and I love my country, and I’ll be damned if I’m going to stand by and let someone else who has absolutely no desire to serve go in my place. If they call I will be there. Period.
have fun stormin’ the castle. waves
Never get involved in a land war in Asia!!
Joking aside, I do respect Airman Doors, USAF
Just never forget that you are also protecting the freedom of Americans to dissent also.
I don’t think the draft is consistent with democracy. If a politician can’t inspire enough people to join up, then the cause likely isn’t worth it to Americans.
It’s also economically inefficient. The volunteer army is always efficient, and if you want moore troops, you simply raise salaries until you get them, no different than any other need. You get what you are willing to pay for. The draft only looks like a bargian if you stupidly ignore opportunity costs.
However, there is no clause about imminent threat. The Vietnam draft was not response to any imminent threat at all.
That said, I can’t see a draft happening. Certainly, the military is too understaffed to fight the sorts of all around the world engagements that some neo-cons would like to see and have soldiers keep reasonably high morale when they have little chance of bieng relieved. But someone like Rumsfeld is certainly not going to be behind an idea like the draft.
OK, finished the article. What a joke.
The only people they could find who supported the idea of a draft were Democrats. And they only supported the draft because it would be so unpopular that it would make people oppose the war.
The article is simply liberal porn. It’s a make believe fantasy by people who WISH Bush would start a draft, because it would be so unpopular that it would doom his presidency. But hoping and praying that Bush institutes a draft isn’t likely to cause him to do so.
Well, maybe, but a lot of us vigorously opposed the amazingly dumb shit he’s already done…
I mean, a lot of us have never seen a faith-based foreign policy before, it takes some getting used to…
Well Lemur866. If it is a joke, we should find were it came, no?
Those sneaky damn liberals! Slipping thier “liberal porn” on the Defense Dept. web site! What won’t they stoop to, huh, Lemur?
WHY the hell would they think of something like this?
Are they that desparate?
Given Rummy’s statement about the draft, and I think Cheney made a few choice comments as well, I can’t see this happening. I thought Salon already decided Cheney was quitting in 2004?
The nice thing about the draft is that almost everyone agrees it’s a stupid idea- thus creating a strong disincentive for any administration to even SUGGEST bringing it back. People who’ve been around a few years longer than myself have bad memories related to the draft, and it’s not exactly a liberal position to note that an army of unwilling conscripts is a waste of resources. It someone, Bush or otherwise, is stupid enough to try it, he/they will pay in the public backlash and the next election. So I don’t think there’s even a chance this will be an issue.
You do realize that there ain’t no draft right now, right? And that the selective service crap is the same crap we’ve had for 20 years, filling out the stupid cards on the 18th birthday, right? How exactly is making sure that the currently existing selective service infrastructure (which aint’ much) is actually functioning a reinstatement of the draft? You all do realize that a draft would require an act of congress, not the whim of the president, right? That the army can’t just decide on their own to round people up and ship them to Iraq, right?
The department of defense cannot institute a draft on their own. Read the article. Which people in the defense department or administration actually advocated instituting the draft? None. The only people who did were congresscritters Charles Rangel and Tom Harkin…and they don’t ACTUALLY favor the draft, they were just engaging in some political theater. The others quoted were various thinktank flunkies who also–get this–didn’t actally advocate a draft.
Tell you what. I’ll bet you $100US that there will not be a draft during the Bush administration, this current term, or (God forbid) another one. Any takers? Anyone really for real think there’s going to be a draft?
The reality is that you all just like PRETENDING to think there’s going to be a draft, because if there were a draft that would prove that Bush is an asshole. But does anyone actually think that a draft is likely? What are the odds? Anyone? Anyone? Nobody?
That’s why I called the article porn. Same thing as the glurge that fundies send around to each other about how the nefarious atheist Madelyn Murray O’Hare is going to get “Touched by an Angel” taken off the teevee, so write your congressman.
One alternative guess: free welfare for special pals?
Or maybe the administration wants to use the draft boards to recruit kids for a domestic, non-military service plan?