A Draft!?

This the Associated Press version: Iraq war czar: Consider a draft

WASHINGTON (AP) — 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.

“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.

You can read or listen to the actual NPR interview here.

Given their track record of incredibly stupid, ill-informed, egregiously bad decisions, I can’t promised that the Hedgemony won’t do this. All I can do is true to explain why it would be a totally worthless maneuver in dealing with the problems of the over extended military.

This would have had military value if it had been done in 2001/2002, but all that was really needed was to have expanded the Army and Marines at that time and called for enlistment. At this point with the majority of the public against the Iraq war, trying to institute a draft would lead to mass demonstrations. This has been true for a while which is why Charlie Rangel [D-NY15] has brought it up. The GOP has to know this would be the “kiss of death” if they backed it.

Understand the political dynamics – if they bring it up, Charlie is on their case for “too little, too late,” “desperation move,” “more incompetence.” If the Shrubbery calls for it and the GOP doesn’t back it Congress, the base will turn on them. Politically this is lose-lose for the GOP. This is also a wide open door for Democratic demagoguery from both ends “everyone should sacrifice” to “this is just another authoritarian power grab.”

This is worthless as a solution to the current problem. By the time a draft could actually have made a difference in the occupation of Iraq, the military will already be in too bad a condition to absorb massive numbers of untested troops.