If you personally were drafted, would you rather spend two years fighting in Iraq or two years in prison?
I’ve been saying since before the war started that it’s a bad idea. I don’t think I’ve been very shy about my dislike for the current administration.
However one of my arguments has been ‘We are a nation of laws’. If the law were to be that I could be drafted, and if I were drafted, then I would obey the law. If I were to disobey on the grounds that I don’t believe in the war, then I would be no better than those who disobeyed the laws that were supposed to keep us from going to war.
I’d rather spend 2 years in Iraq than 2 months in prison.
Two years in Iraq by a longshot.
Also, maybe you should be more specific. One could stay within the walls of a hospital working in the blood bank or as an xray tech as oppossed to doing combat patrols every other day in an infantry squad. . .
Time off with xbox, internet, phone, friends, no booty-rape… who wouldn’t pick that over prison? Seriously?
Iraq by a mile. It would have to be better than prison. Plus, after it is over, would you want to tell people your war stories or your prison stories?
If they want my pasty white ass for Iraq, they can have it. Prison…no.
Iraq all the way…no brainer.
Oh yeah, definitely. Iraq. Iraq would be much more fun than prison.
Let’s see here…
3,000 deaths incurred over 5 years while simultaneously conquering and occupying two different countries, with several hundred thousand people in those countries at any given time, accounting for millions of man-years of work. Let me think…
Objectively, it sucks if it’s you that dies, but from a purely statistical point of view you really don’t have much to worry about if you go over there. Even if you factor in severe injuries your odds of having any of that happen to you are exceedingly small.
On the other hand, you have PMITA prison, where sissy boy draft dodgers like you aren’t cottoned to very much except for a little lovin’.
Yeah, that’s a tough call. Go wherever your principles lead you. Jail doesn’t appeal to me, thank you very much.
Could I pick the prison? Forbes magazine has a list of the best places to go to prison. Music lessons, tennis courts, aerobics…not too bad.
But seriously, if they gave me the choice, I’d go to Iraq. At 53, though, I don’t know how helpful I’d be in combat ops.
See, my thinking is that if you’re smart enough or have the right kind of experience, you won’t be going to Iraq to handle a gun, you’ll be going to build a bridge or cook or file paperwork.
That’s how my dad spent the Vietnam war in the Army fixing motors and not getting shot; he knew how to fix motors.
Not even close. Iraq.
Presents quite a dilemma for me, if the deal implies being a soldier in Iraq. OTOH, I think Iraq would be a far, far better place for me as a human being to spend the two years. I have a high opinion of military folks as human beings (though some are deeply flawed like any other group, of course) and I think I’d be better off with them than caged with a lot of psychopaths.
OTOH, I might in the course of my job be asked to kill some Iraqis, and I don’t think we should be over there killing Iraqis. So I shouldn’t take the assignment since the lives of my fellow soldiers might well depend on my willingness to fire when necessary.
Driving a truck in Iraq or doing logistics/support work, no problem, I’m there.
I’ve spent more than 2 years in Iraq, although not in the military.
I’ve never spent time in prison, but I can tell you this is not worse than prison. It does at times feel like a jail sentence and it sucks on many many levels, but it ain’t the big house.
53? Well, had you spent the past 35 years of your life in the Army, you’d probably be pretty damn helpful =)
[Milhouse]
“They use guys like me as currency in prison!”
[/Milhouse]
Iraq. No question. 
Iraq. Although some of the “honor ranches” would be not so bad. But Iraq, even for 2 years vs 2 months.
In fact, I got an offer for a job in Iraq (as a civilian advisor to the administration), and considered it- but not too seriously. Mind you, the pay was more than 10X what a grunt gets.
Hmm, I’m surprised a bit by the responses so far. If you hadn’t mentioned draft, I would have easily agreed with everyone else; I’d rather spend two years as a soldier in Iraq than two months in prison. But you want to force me and a host of unwilling fellow citizens to do it? Uh uh. If you can’t get enough people to volunteer for your harebrained invasion, I’ll be damned if you’re going to force me into it. I’ll take prison.
Assuming you mean prison and not white collar jail, Iraq all the way. You can die in either, but you have a much smaller chance of daily gang rape in Iraq. Food quality probably a wash.