Would you support a return to the Draft

[Pressing-On]

This is the best way to view the draft, IMO.

Back in the days of World War II, the military were drafting young men who were, by and large, patriotic Americans, people who felt that they had a duty to protect this country from its enemies.

Today, a military draft would bring in large numbers of people who have been systematically "educated" to believe the worst about this country or, at best, to be non-judgmental about the differences between American society and its enemies.

The fact that we could use a larger army of the kinds of people who have already volunteered to put their lives on the line does not mean that we can get it by adding warm bodies fresh from our politically correct schools and colleges, where standards and self-discipline are greatly lacking.

Just getting such people used to the idea of duty and discipline could be a major drain on the military, not to mention a plague of lawsuits from groups like the American Civil Liberties Union if the little darlings were not handled with kid gloves.

More than that, so many American institutions, from the Congress to the courts, have degenerated into irresponsible self-indulgence that the military is one of the very few institutions left with a sense of purpose for which it is prepared to make sacrifices.

We dare not destroy that institution, or undermine its morale, by pouring into it very different kinds of people, who will be like sand poured into the gears of machinery.

This is not to say that there are no civilians who would be valuable additions to the military. Such people need not be drafted. Our colleges are blocking such people from taking R.O.T.C. by not allowing R.O.T.C. programs or military recruiters on campus in the first place.

Anti-military academics think they have a right to over-ride their students' rights to reach their own conclusions and make their own decisions, or even to hear a different viewpoint about the military.

Patriotic and educated young Americans who want to serve in the military are available. We need to stop academia from sabotaging national defense by blocking them from R.O.T.C. and from even hearing what military representatives have to say.

-Thomas Sowell-

http://www.townhall.com/columnists/c...&comments=true

[BrotherEastman]

To draft or not to draft? Would any of you be willing to give your only child for a war that you disagree with? If it were a war where our countries freedom was threatened, then I might, but seeing how that our wars are being fought overseas to police a different nation, not hardly. Our soldiers that came back from Vietnam were scrutinized, verbally abused, had tomatoes (among other things) thrown at them, all for a country who's own people hated them and were ungrateful for what these soldiers did in sacrificing thier own freedom? Why in the world would I want to support the draft?

[Praxeas]

Pressing on, I can agree. However I think many Americans just do NOT see dying in Iraq....or having a limb blown off....is a matter of fighting for OUR country. Rather it seems more like we are fighting for someone elses country and or someone elses monetary venture.

The Iraqis are divided into three segments. Two of them kill each other and when they have the time, they try to kill us. I don't think Americans see the value in dying for that cause, particularly when there seems to be no resolution of the matter and particularly when we have a growing threat of China both militarily and economically.

Our priorities are seriously messed up. We should have devoted our resources to Afghanistan, setting up a stable government and rooting out Al Queda and the Taliban. Now we got Iran too trying to take a piece of Iraq, developing nukes, funneling high tech weapons into Syria and Lebannon and threating Israel....our one real ally in the region.

We are stretched out way way too thin. This is a generals night mare. If they are not blind they are looking at China and North Korea and Iran, while we are occupied with Iraq and Afghanistan, and they are having sleepless nights over it.

They also worry about suitcase nukes and dirty nukes coming into our country, but it's NOT from Iraq they will be coming. And they might come by crossing the border or by shipping containers, but our borders are porous and our ports are under manned and the technology is limited available.

I live in a deep water port area....nobody hears of us or gives a hoot. If I were a terrorist and I wanted to sneak something in like that, I'd avoid Los Angeles and come this way....

Seriously I have no confidence in our government, democrat or replublican when I see what is happening. A draft is pointless and you are right that most of those we draft will be of the lowest caliber simply because they don't want to be there. We would need to do serious security checks on them too before hand.

It's nuts. Iraq, I think after toppling Saddam we should have went to his particular Islamic sect Shiites and told them "Look, we toppled Saddam bt we want to keep you guys in power. We are willing to do whatever you want to make a Shiite government and army in control of Iraq, except for the kurds. They need to be given some self government. We have nothing personal against your people, it was just Saddam. Then sell them arms and help re-train their army. The Sunni are Iranian backed because Iran is mostly Sunni as is Syria and Lebannon. As much as the Saudis distrusted Saddam they equally distrust the Iranians. The Saudis would have helped too. We would announce to the world that we would be out of there very quickly.

But now Iraq is a quagmire. We never had enough troops to begin the post war process. We never closed the borders. And now GB is pulling out.

The draft is to little, too late.

[BoredOutOfMyMind]

If we do not resupport the troops with fresh troops, those in the field are hindered.

They are already tired, and some are forced to take 2nd or 3rd tours of duty.

And the American People are not against war on Terrorism. The Left Media has propagated that to be a fact when it is not true. There are pockets of resistance and those need more troops and let them win the job they are there for.

Hillary herself said we will be in Iraq in her term if she is elected.

[Sherri]

I don't know how I feel actually. It would be a lot easier to answer this if I didn't have a son who is almost nineteen. When I got his Selective Service number in the mail, I just wanted to cry.

[berkeley]

Originally Posted by Sherri

I don't know how I feel actually. It would be a lot easier to answer this if I didn't have a son who is almost nineteen. When I got his Selective Service number in the mail, I just wanted to cry.

I believe that our military should only be on a voluntary basis. I would volunteer if I could. lol..

When I first got my SS card in the mail, I couldn't wait for my 26th birthday.. lol

[BoredOutOfMyMind]

Originally Posted by Sherri

I don't know how I feel actually. It would be a lot easier to answer this if I didn't have a son who is almost nineteen. When I got his Selective Service number in the mail, I just wanted to cry.

Not every soldier gets sent to the trenches.

Some get stateside jobs in air conditioning.

[chosenbyone]

The sad reality that the veterans faced after they have sacrificed so much for this "war" in Iraq should have all citizens outraged! Haven't we seen the news reports of the conditions that wounded soldiers faced when they were seeking care at Walter Reid Medical Center? This current administration has talked a good talk, but their actions have told us that they don't care about those young men and women. It took the media to break a story of the conditions there at Walter Reid before the government stepped in with their spin to divert the blame. This administration knew over three years before the media got involved of the conditions of Walter Reid and yet they get off the hook by having a scapegoat take the fall.

Many soldiers have come back from Iraq in need of physiological and medical help and one would have thought that they would get the best treatment available. Instead, ones that have demonstrated Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome and other maladies have been processed out of the military with no help available.

The attached link was an article I read this evening and anyone who would contemplate drafting young people into service should know what their children would face if they were lucky enough to survive.

http://www.boston.com/news/local/art...n_wars/?page=1

[Praxeas]

Originally Posted by BoredOutOfMyMind

If we do not resupport the troops with fresh troops, those in the field are hindered.

They are already tired, and some are forced to take 2nd or 3rd tours of duty.

And the American People are not against war on Terrorism. The Left Media has propagated that to be a fact when it is not true. There are pockets of resistance and those need more troops and let them win the job they are there for.

Hillary herself said we will be in Iraq in her term if she is elected.

Americans don't all equate the war on terror with what we started and ended up stuck in down in Iraq. Terrorism is not a nation. However there are nations that support terrorism and long before I would think of Iraq and Saddam I would think of Iran and Syria among others. We did not go into Iraq because of "war on terror".

Terrorism is like fighting street gangs...you don't bomb the entire city, you don't kill the mayer...you have to find them where they are at. You have to use special units and even covert ops. We need to bring our stretched out troops home, not send fresh kids over to hell to be killed and maimed. What is happening is not a war on terror...it's more like "stick our armies here...watch them continue to roll in from outside iraq, watch them kill each other, try not to get in the way"

[BoredOutOfMyMind]

Prax,

I think we really have no business in Iraq. Same as when we invaded from Kuwait, they tied the military hands, or Stormin Norman would have beheaded Saddam and his regime. The Iraq problem was addressed by Sir Winston Churchill in 1925 and for over 75 yrs the British have not solved it.

As long as one single solitary American Soldier is on the ground, we need to do what ever is needed to give them support. And if I was near Dallas (I think it was Big D), I would go down daily and shake hands like some other folks do greeting the soldiers coming home.

I do not think we needed to help Europeans as long as we did either...... an entirely different thread.