<rant>
I'm really getting tired of seeing stuff about a draft. Earlier tonight there was even a banner ad across the top of the Opera window:
Worried about the draft?Where do people keep coming up with the idea?
You're not alone.
Yes, Virginia, there was a draft proposal in Congress.
But guess what? It was defeated. 402 to 2. That's about as crushing a defeat as you can ask for.
So I'd say if things stay at all like they are, there is just about no chance in hell we'll have a draft.
Maybe Bush wants more troops. Maybe we need more troops. But a draft is the last way to go. There's plenty of world experience that conscripted troops don't generally make good soldiers. A draft is purely a desperation move.
Our total forces are in the low hundred thousand range. 200,000 or 400,000, I don't remember exactly. But in that neighborhood.
So maybe we want to add a hundred thousand or so, tops. Big increase. That'll take some good recruiting. Patriotism can do that just fine.
Drafts are for when you need troops in the millions. We sent a couple million in WWII.
The military is working on doing more with less, and getting good at it. More special forces type approaches are more like the way things are headed. The odds of ending up in another meat-grinder variety conflict are pretty slim.
To actually have a draft would take something big-time major. There are only so many groups capable of mounting something so major. It probably takes either an invasion, or large-scale weapons. If any group actually did something to us that warranted a draft-level response, you can bet easy money we won't be the only one calling up troops.
Worried about a draft? Stop listening to scare-tactic propoganda. (You'll probably have to turn off the TV to do it, though, so no more MTV for you.)
</rant>
Posted by fictionman at October 24, 2004 09:34 PM | TrackBack (0)