Will there be a draft? IMHO, no. Why? There are too many anti-military types in this country to have one.

BUT, I have noticed after serving in Europe, other societies seem to benefit from having people serve 2 years in the military. But then again, who am I to say serving benefits society.

On the flip side, the military is not for everybody. Some just cannot handle having an authority figure telling them what to do and when to do it.

Freedom isn't free. Thanks to those who serve.

 

Interesting thought. But its a miracle to make it to the next day let alone 20 years from now. That would be the least of my worries. I'm just not comfortable with the idea of war, and if by some miracle I had to go I could not be in a position to have to shoot and kill someone. I don't feel like that is my duty in life, nor do I feel I have the ability to carry that out. The funny thing is, we feel like the government has power to do alot of things, but we must realize the government only has power because we give it. You can only rule over people who want to be ruled over, and if they decide otherwise, then there's nothing a government can do. Some people are just not physically or mentally able to deal with a war situation. Like it was said earlier, no one wins in a war.....

 

They didn't want me orgininally, turned me down because of my asthma.... so they can't get me now!

I even have the letter....

I wish they'd have all US teens serve in some capacity in the armed forces, like many of the other countries in the world... There is something to be said to serving something outside of yourself...

 

I believe all citizens should be required to serve 2 years of gov't service?

Armed Services,
Peace Corps,
Americorps,
etc.

It would teach them to appreciate the freedom they have now, thanks to past draftees and volunteers.

Now drop and give me ten.

 

To play devil's advocate:

What about those whom belive/practice non-violence? Certainly we as a country have no more right to infringe upon their decision to that set of choices than anyone else's choices for whatever reason. Once we start forcing majority opinion/rule upon the minority, we become exactly what we are fighting, oppressors to personal/collective freedom.

IMO I agree with what a lot fo you have said. Freedom is not free. Military is for those physically/mentally capable of handling it, bla bla bla.

 

personally as a student of history i've and been told in interviews that volunteers with drive fight better than those thrown into the fight. i'd rather have maximum personell devoted to the war effort rathern than being in charge of rounding up all the deserters

 

I know freedom isn't free. And i respect that in many ways. However, for me at least, and i know others say the same, its not about defending our freedom. Iraq as a a country did absolutely nothing to us. Why should we free them and convert years of their way a life, into ours? Our country has a system, that works for us. But that doesn't mean its going to work for others. Unlike most countries, we don't one or two religions we go by as a nation. We have the freedom to choose what we are, who we are, and how we are. Other countries, have more religion based politics. They believe, as a nation, strongly in their one relgion whatever it may be. Who are we to go in and change their ways?

When in fact: Bush administration said that Saddam had no threat to us back in 2001. Then, all of a sudden after 9/11 they went after Saddam. Makes sense? Don't think so. Bin laden didn't get blamed i believe because of the bush-bin laden corp. connection. So he went after someone else but still backing up saying we are looking for bin laden. Which they did, but no where near as hard as Saddam. It makes no sense to me. This is why i don't want to fight this war. This is why i did not vote for Bush last voting term, and this is why i support our troops. They are fighting over there, for a reason unknown. But they still continue to thrive and do what they are told. That is major respect.

On the same note, a lot of soliders over there now do not plan to re-enlist. My thoughts? Probably because they think why they are there is bs and they keep being told they can leave in x amount of months, but never do. Its sad.

Cya

 

Yep....that's the truth right there. No matter how much money Lockheed Martin makes we all lose.

 

LOL, i have ashtma. I got it waived... i was freaking out in the gas chamber though

 

ditto

 

They have been talking about the draft thing for a while I remember people saying that in june 05 if bush is still in office there will be a draft. The U.S even signed something with Canada saying not to take us in and nothing ever happened.

I wish they would push Peace Corps and Americorps as much as they push the Military. Alot of people go into the Military to pay for college thinking its the only way and end up screwed up.

Military is good? No! They barely give you enough money. Once you come back you will be all mentaly screwed up. Some people have lost limbs and have been forgotten by the govt.

Appreciate freedom by being REQUIRED to join govt services??? WTF? If anything that would make me realize how full of crap this country is and make me want to move to Canada.

I just love how you guys throw the word "Freedom" around. But think about this logically it may seem we are free but are we really?
Maybe you guys need to travel around the world and you will find the answer.

 

there was legislation in congress last year to reinstate the draft. It was overwhelmingly defeated. Here is a link...

Click Here

It mentions the only way a draft would come back would be if we were unable to recruit enough people. And I believe the army has been consistently falling short of its recruitng goals... so who knows... anything could happen.

or you can go to http://thomas.loc.gov/ and do a search on bill# HR 163

{edited to clean up super long URL --Tomas}

 

Yeah, they have. Theres a reason behind it too. Its not because people don't want to go, its because they think the administrations cause is bs. Which, in reality, it is. No matter how you look at it, nothing adds up to why we are still there. Supposidly, bush is coming up with a plan to start removing troops to back home. Our "job" is complete, theres no reason for us to still be there. The only reason why we are, supposidly is because we can't just openly leave Iraq without them being stable. Truth is, there are so many terrorist orgainsations it would take years, and years for Iraq to be considerably stable enough for us to move out. Thats how i see it. Iraq may never be stable enough really, there are so many mixed emotions and diverse takes on whats going on currently, its just insane. I hope they don't bring back the draft, not just for myself but for the others out there as well. People that haven't volunteered haven't for a reason. Either health issues, not a fan of war or just disagree with why we are there and don't feel the need to contribute to a never ending, never understanding cause. It would be so impractical to basically force kids to go there. I mean who wants to spend up to 5 years in prision (being its a federal case), or who has $250,000 to pay to not go? Average people don't. I know i don't. Unless there are payment plans.

As for those believing just because people like me don't go, we aren't man enough or take freedom for granted. That is absolutely wrong. If i had a choice to go, i'd rather not but reality is i probably would. (under draft-related situations) That doesn't make me any less than a man. As for Bush, can't think of a single mistake hes had through his terms so far? He can't admit why we are there, the real reasons what ever they are? The only thing i agree with that hes done is, when he says he'll do something, he'll do it. The only problem is, what he says to me, doesn't make sense at all. It's almost like hes trying to finish what his father started. Maybe that makes me a bad person to think that, i'm not saying its true. But, you really can't help but wonder.

Gah, who knows. Some claim we will leave soon, some say will stay soon.

Cya

 

Quite seriously, a couple hundred thousand military folks from the other side of the planet (US
Military) are really unlikely to change the way that part of the world has been run for over 4000
years.

That area has always been run by assorted warlords and religious leaders each intent on their
own goals. This goes back to the very, very earliest of recorded history of the human race.

That sort of deep cultural and societal drive can NOT be changed by outsiders overnight. It
just isn't going to happen. Sorry.

What makes the shrub think that in a couple years a few people, who don't understand the
cultures or even the languages, can change that kind of history, culture, and society in any
significant way? Hubris!

The truth is, the shrub doesn't even understand the enormity of the problem he's stuck us,
uninvited, in the middle of. To add to his non-knowledge of history, and cultures, he has no
serious understanding if strategy, tactics or anything else military.

His best path would be to find the absolute best people he can in the disiplines involved, and
give them the job of doing the best we can within our means. Not every problem can be fixed
with just bailing wire, bubble gum, and bull____.

Anyway, back to the draft: If we continue along the path the shrub has us locked into, we will
need more quality 'volunteers' than will come knocking at his door. That means he must recruit
folks who don't WANT to be recruited. That means the return of the draft.

With a lot of luck that path will be changed and we won't have to go there.

(Just for interest, when I was in Viet Nam and finally got to know the people, I finally
understood that the vast majority of them didn't really care who won the war. They didn't care
what government they were under, or what 'system' that government professed. All they
wanted was for everyone else to go away and leave them alone so they could go back to living
quietly and honestly, raising rice and little babies. http://www.tijil.org/blog/?p=13)

 

Since this is the only entirely new idea that has been presented, a response is warranted.

Violence is never desirable. Regardless of how you may feel now, if you were put in a situation in which you had the choice between your own life and someone else's, you would more likely than not choose your own life. It's a human instinct, and it's called self-preservation. However, you must understand that even in light of the recent conflicts in Iraq -- and my gosh, why has nobody mentioned Afghanistan or Lebanon or any of the other places Americans have fought and died in recent years? -- very few are forced to make this choice.

Arguably, nobody can be forced to do anything, only given a poor set of choices. Even putting that aside, we must remember again that nobody has been drafted into the US Military in a very long time. Furthermore, our selective service system is set up so that those who are legitimate conscientious objectors have the option to complete civil rather than military service. You and several others here understand that freedom is not free, and I agree with you that not all are well-suited for military service. Remember that there are other options.

If being called an American shames you in any way, then you should not live here. If you choose to remain in this country, you are accepting, if not endorsing, our laws, standards, and yes, even our political ideals. Let me close by reminding you all that our country is one that allows, if not complete personal freedom, at least enough that one has the option to leave the country if you do not believe that you should be bound by our laws. Personally, I'd rather you all stay and balance out those who believe we are superior by virtue or right. Since many are suggesting that our country would do well to remember the old adage that tells us more flies are caught with honey than with vinegar, let's consider that idea as citizens, too.

 

The bill to bring back the draft last year was never going to be passed. It was introduced to make a political point. The supporters (Charlie Rangel was behind it, among others) basic thing was since there are a lot of poor people/minorities in the military right now (the have less opportunity than rich people, so they have fewer non-military options), bringing back the draft would ensure that rich people would share the burden of the war. (because they wouldn't find ways to avoid the draft....)

 

You know, Kremtok, I had never even considered the option of concious(sp) objectors. Der, you'd think a history major would remember those kidns of details

Lots of goot points people are making. Here is something I am concerned by: over extension. And what I mean by that is our military becoming so spread thin that our presence becomes counterproductive. I've been saying for a few months now that Iran is next, and the rhetoric from the WHite House sometimes leans that direction, and somethimes does not. IMO, that would be opening a _enormous_ can of worms we are ill suited to handle form a logistics standpoint. What we really need, and I amd STILL trying to understand why this has not happened yet, is U.N. support. But I think we've long ago burned that bridge unfortunately.

Its my hope that any administration present and future learns from the past. Lets hope North Korea doesn't rattle the cage too much until this whole Iraq/Iran/Afghanistan finally concludes. WHich brings me to another point, occupation. EVen with minimal resistance, the SCAP occupation of Japan was what, 5-10 years? And that was without a culture declaring a Jihad on us.

I predict, in my infantile wisdom, we're in for a very -long- ride.