by Perry Hotter

Created on: August 23, 2007   Last Updated: September 09, 2008

There are so many reasons to reinstate the draft, from equality of responsibility to ending the current debacle in Iraq, its difficult to find reasons NOT to reinstate. Despite President Bush's repeated admonitions that the professional army is doing the job, its pretty obvious from what the generals on the ground have to say, the military is becoming physically and emotionally exhausted; the extended tours not only lower morale and thus lower efficiency, they place an unconscionable burden on the family's of active duty military, who already have the gut-wrenching experience of military funerals and months of rehab to contend with, not to mention the ever present thought of a loved one in harms way.

Even if the military were not stressed to the limit, what is to happen if we are threatened by another country. It is difficult to find a sane commentator left that believes the sanctions devastated regime of Saddam posed any type of serious threat to America; it is even more difficult to find anyone with credible evidence of his support for or allegiance with Al-Queda. But there are certainly situations geopolitically that threaten American security: the fall of Pakistan's government to a more radicalized religious element, equipped with nuclear weapons and an historical resume of being pro-Taliban, is one that comes to mind. We must also remember that states going through flooding and other natural disasters, at present have severely curtailed abilities to respond to these crisis as their guard elements are deported to this never-ending war.

None of these reasons, good as they are, compare with the primary purpose of bringing back the draft: spreading the responsibility and culpability of an illegal and immoral war equally through the congressional and media elements that supported it, as well as through the body politic. Once THEIR kids start coming home in body bags, and the Georgetown elites start bowing their heads at the funeral rites of their beloved and deceased; when the populace begins to understand that war has consequences beyond distant battles and abstract kill numbers and budgetary finagling, then and only then will their be a call for quick withdrawal. Its unfortunate you have to utilize a scared-straight approach, similar to the ones utilized to dissuade teens from becoming hardened criminals, but you indeed have to; if for no other reason that people cannot learn the lessons of history, if they keep dodging the worst consequences of those imperial adventures so happily glorified by the ivory tower chicken hawks, who feel guilty or less manly for never having served themselves. Those who know war are less likely to start one easily-bring back the draft now.

Learn more about this author, Perry Hotter.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.