Some US congressman has proposed reinstating the DRAFT…so there’s debate about it…
…so here I am in Europe listening to Air America radio on the internet and i hear about politicians asking for more troops for Iraq bla bla bla…being from Gibraltar and thus a stepping stone for US and UK forces going to the Middle east we see more or less deployment throughout the year…(US Special Forces guys are funny…if you know what you’re seeing you will notice them running up the Rock of Gibraltar etc without shirts, Oakleys or whatever and their mountaineering watches…very Top Gun)…
…so the question is…a DRAFT…is this possible again…forgive my ignorance of US politics…this are very ‘interesting’ times…
I actually say YES. If a politician thinks there is enough evidence of “whatever” to invade a country, I’d like to see those politicians risk sending their kids over there. It would really be a litmus test for judging how necessary the conflict is. Not that cop out draft they had during Vietnam either. Unless you’re disabled, you’re in the draft lottery son.
And yes, I do have a young son who would be eligible for a draft in future years.
I also happen to think military service is something to be extremely proud of.
For better or worse, we already spend a TON of money on our military. Despite the all the resources dedicated to national defense, it still falls short in taking care of the families of the soldiers, caring for wounded and disabled veterans. The pay of active duty soldiers we have now is way lower than what they deserve.
With that, it is a terrible idea to multiply the number of personel with people who have no motivation or desire to be soldiers. It is bad for the quality and overall moral to have most of your fighting force being put in that position on an unwilling basis. I would rather see the tax money spent on taking better care of the people we already have and attracting better people to fill our fighting ranks. It would not be worth it just to make a Senator “think harder” about sending his own son to war. Do you all really think a drafted senators son would unwillingly see combat anyway? Hell no, he would be in a band or some other rear eschelon job.
Swelling and multiplying the military expenditures to add a bunch of dead weight just for philisophical reasons makes absolutely no sense. I suspect Rangel already knows this, but it does not matter. For politicians these days it is all about symbolism over substance.
**…so the question is…a DRAFT…is this possible again…forgive my ignorance of US politics…this are very ‘interesting’ times… **
Not a chance in hell. First off, it would be political suicide for most Congressment to vote for something like that. Second our standing military has no need for a draft. From a military strength basis, what would be the benefit of forcing people to join the military? I can think of many detriments, but the only positive would be an increase in numbers (which would also lead to a rather sharp increase in costs).
On this topic Rangel is an idiot just trying to get attention. He’s pushed for a draft on other occasions and failed miserable each time.
And for those all of those callers that agreed with the draft, remember your WERE listening to Air America!!
Not likely going to be a draft any time soon. Most of the Defense Budget is spent on “people costs” like pay, benefits, medical, dental, etc, so an increase in numbers means a sharp increase in spending. Politically it’s suicide for most politicians. Lastly, we don’t really need a draft. We probably need to be smarter about how we use our forces. Rather than looking around the world and seeing how much stuff we want to get involved in, and then seeing if we have enough bodies, we should be looking at how big our force is first, and then making good decisions about how we employ that force. I don’t see a draft doing that much for us.
No chance. This is politics and a reverse pschology mind game. First, the military doesn’t want a draft, they want the best people they can get. This comes down to Rangle thinking that only dumb, poor black people end up in the military and his effort to make everyone serve, most importantly wealthy and educated people. I think this also comes down to the logic that if there is a draft then people will be more likely to oppose any military use in the future.
In short, Ranlge is a bit of a loud mouth idiot who has tried this stunt before I believe.
There is no way a draft is going to return. Nancy Pelosi and Sten Hoyer said it wasn’t on the agenda very quickly. There is no way the US can even afford a draft. Training and equipping that many young folks takes more money than anyone is prepared to spend.
Air America has been granted an extra week to find a buyer
*NEW YORK (AP) – Air America Radio, the liberal news and talk radio network headlined by the comedian Al Franken, has another week to find a buyer. *
*A lawyer for the network, Tracy Klestadt, told a bankruptcy hearing Monday that the company was in “advanced negotiations with a few parties” about a sale, and expected to have more definitive news on a deal in a week. *
*Under its financing agreement, the network had faced a deadline of this Wednesday to have a deal in place for a buyer, but Klestadt said the network’s lender had informally agreed to extend the deadline by about a week. *
*The network, which went on the air two years ago, filed for bankruptcy reorganization on Oct. 13 after discussions with one of its creditors reached an impasse. * It is continuing to operate in the meantime as it searches for a buyer. Klestadt declined to say who the potential buyers are.
whats the story with Air America then…they seem to totally anti-Bush ALL the time…I know nothing about this radio station
Stephen, take a look at walnutcreektri’s post above - that the rationale. However, it’s an impractical and massively unpopular idea in the US and is pretty unlikely to happen.
…I’d like to give you all the Euro perspective…to propose a draft anywhere in Europe in this day and age would not even merit a debate…everyone would just roll about laughing at how ridiculous the idea is…
