Do We Need a Draft?

[mburbank]

"The reason senior Army leaders want to go to a bigger Army," reported ABC News on Monday, "is that they are worried about their ability to fight future threats. One official told ABC News, other than the troops now in Iraq and Afghanistan, there are only two to three combat brigades - that's 7,000 to 10,000 troops - who are fully trained and equipped to respond quickly to a crisis. 'If we keep forces in Iraq too long, we risk running into a situation where the force begins to break,' said former US Army officer Andrew Krepenevich."


Do we at this point need to reinstate compulsory service in order to keep the army functioning and the country safe?

I'm very conflicted by this question. Part of me thinks we need a draft, if for no other reason than that the risks we choose as a country should be shared as equally as possible. The rich and powerful would always find ways around service, or ways to safe service, but at least there would be an attempt at sharing the costs.

But I have an eleven year old daughter, and it's very easy to imagine some form of the war were in now still going on when she's of age.

Here's the other thing I don't understand. Why don't the folks who think we are in a situation comparable to WWII think there should be a draft? Why is our country not on a serious war footing?