The Case for the Reinstatement of the Draft

[David S]

My comment remains unchanged; the draft is a bad idea because it gives our leaders an unlimited supply of young bodies to throw at whatever goofball war they want to get into. It's also involuntary servitude in my opinion.

[Tetro Kornbluth]

The problem with the article is that it supposes that being a global superpower is naturally a good thing which is worth throwing lives at. It's not, especially when you look at some of military actions which the US has got involved in during the past 50 years (Iraq being one of a list).

[AkSaber]

My comment remains unchanged; the draft is a bad idea because it gives our leaders an unlimited supply of young bodies to throw at whatever goofball war they want to get into.

I agree. Also, to me, the draft and income tax are kinda the same that way. Whenever the government wants to go off and do something stupid, they have a virtually limitless supply of whatever they need.

[True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)]

We don't need a draft to expand the military.  We had a larger army in the post-Vietnam era and were able to maintain it without a draft.  We would need to increase pay and other incentives and it would be best to increase the size slowly (25 to 30K a year) as we don't have sufficient NCO's to increase it any faster.  We could also shift some of our military manpower over from the Navy and the Air Force over to the Army and Marine Corps.

[Nym90]

Philosophically, I strongly oppose a draft under pretty much any conditions. I don't think the government should be able to force someone to fight in a war against their will (I think it could be argued that a draft would be unconstitional in fact in terms of being considered to be slavery). It should be the government's responsibility to make the case for war sufficiently well so as to convince people that the cause is worth volunteering to fight for. If they can't do that, we should probably rethink our war strategy rather than forcing people to fight a war they don't believe in.

However, there may be some extreme circumstances where one is needed. I do agree with the concept that if we are going to go to war, the burden should be borne equally by all people; as it is now, the wealthy and elite are basically exempt from fighting, and thus their view of war is as more of a spectator sport than as anything that actually affects them directly. If I recall, Sen. Tim Johnson of South Dakota is the only one of the 535 members of Congress to have a child who is serving in the Iraq War.

[NewFederalist]

If I recall, Sen. Tim Johnson of South Dakota is the only one of the 535 members of Congress to have a child who is serving in the Iraq War.

Senator-elect Jim Webb? How could you forget THAT one?

[Nym90]

If I recall, Sen. Tim Johnson of South Dakota is the only one of the 535 members of Congress to have a child who is serving in the Iraq War.

Senator-elect Jim Webb? How could you forget THAT one?

Well I meant of the current Congress, but in less than a week, yes, you'll be correct.