Lute: ‘Consider a draft’
11 August 2007 9:23 am by Taylor Marsh
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That loud noise you’re hearing is Steve
Gilliard from the heavens. The subject of a draft was just one of many topics
on which he was passionate.
Now Bush’s war czar has stepped into the fray:
Frequent tours for U.S. forces in Iraq and Afghanistan have stressed the
all-volunteer force and made it worth considering a return to a military draft,
President Bush’s new war adviser said Friday.Army Lt. Gen. Douglas Lute is the president’s war adviser. Several retired
generals turned down the post.“I think it makes sense to certainly consider it,”
Army Lt. Gen. Douglas Lute said in an interview with National Public Radio’s
“All Things Considered.”“And I can tell you, this has always been an option on the table. But
ultimately, this is a policy matter between meeting the demands for the nation’s
security by one means or another,” said Lute, who is sometimes referred
to as the “Iraq war czar.” It was his first interview since he was
confirmed by the Senate in June. … ..In the interview, Lute also said that “Today, the current means of the
all-volunteer force is serving us exceptionally well.” … ..“There’s both a personal dimension of this, where this kind of stress
plays out across dinner tables and in living room conversations within these
families,” he said. “And ultimately, the health of the all-volunteer
force is going to rest on those sorts of personal family decisions.”
… ..
The record of Republicans on military service is appalling, especially in this latest crop of “conservatives.” When you add Rudy blaming the military instead of Bush, and Mitt comparing military service to his son’s Winnegabo travels, it completes the insult and the picture. But their unearned reputation on military issues has finally been revealed.
The lack of congressional spine on instituting a draft is historic. In an
election year the pandering will be set on high.
After George W. Bush’s incompetence, aiding and abetted by Republicans, the
draft is something I not only think should be brought back, but instituted as
part of American policy. Not everyone has to serve in war or on the front lines.
But I believe everyone should be made to serve their country in some form. If
we are indeed in a generational war with jihadist extremists then we need to prepare
the country and the citizenry, but also educate our young people on what this war
means to us all.
There is on caveat I’d offer. If we’re not set on the heading of perpetual war, but willing to step back and institute musucular diplomacy once again, with all saber rattling and MADD talk off the table. Of course, our military will remain the strongest in the world, even as we set our economic goals towards softer means of moving minds. That would mean economic development in countries where the unemployed male youth population is at all time highs; madrassas replaced by real education; as well as other methods of winning hearts and minds, instead of killing husbands, wives, sons and daughters while setting the world afire with American hatred.
However, in real time, the seriousness of what’s going on in Iraq is being missed by a country who hears sound bites, but sees no bodies, blood or the true cost in Iraq. As for the loss
of progress in Afghanistan, as well as bin Laden still being alive, as al Qaeda
gets stronger in the border areas of Pakistan, few young people even care. A
draft would certainly focus everyone’s attention. In the circumstances today,
I’m for it. Especially for chickenhawks like Mitt Romney who rail about how good
the Iraq war is while keeping five, five, sons home riding around in
a Winnebago, equating their service to soldiers.
