Posted on 06/02/2008 7:53:38 AM PDT by Doctor13
"War is an ugly thing, but not the ugliest of things. The decayed and degraded state of moral and patriotic feeling which thinks that nothing is worth war is much worse. The person who has nothing for which he is willing to fight, nothing which is more important than his own personal safety, is a miserable creature and has no chance of being free unless made and kept so by the exertions of better men than himself." John Stuart Mill, English economist & philosopher (1806-1873)
The War, a documentary directed and produced by Ken Burns and Lynn Novich is the story of the Second World War through the personal accounts of a handful of men and women from four American towns. The war touched the lives of every family on every street in every town of America.
The scenes brought back the misery, the suffering, the cold, the mud, the rain, the sicknesses and the agony endured by our GIs. America faced an enemy that had attacked our country on 7 December 1941 plummeting us into a war that we did not want nor had we started; nor did we know when or how it was going to end. It was a war where every American felt there was a part for them to play - out of patriotism, and it was a war where the women of our country (exemplified by Rosie the Riveter) hung up their aprons and went to work in the factories making the much needed supplies for the war effort and where they waited for their loves one to safely return home.
Today, we have an all-volunteer military in which less than 1 percent of the population serve in the military. GIs have returned to the war zone, some as many as three, four and even five times and this is where I have the problem. I hear people say, "Well, after all, they volunteered!" Just because we have an all-volunteer military, does it mean that they are to be sent back into battle time and time again until they are either maimed or killed? Does it mean we should use our brightest and best as cannon fodder because they "volunteered" to serve their country? US suicide rates among US soldiers are heading for a record high, according to army data. According to other statistics, 120 War Vets commit suicide each week. It is just plain unfair. It should be the willing patriotic duty of every red blooded American to take up arms against an enemy, an enemy far more evil than we faced in World War II.
Never in my wildest dreams would I have imagined that I would agree with someone as politically liberal as Congressman Charlie Rangel, but I did when he said that if he were elected president he would bring back the draft. As they say, "Politics makes strange bedfellows." Rangel is right, the draft should be reinstated, but in a way that corrects the inequities, problems and manipulations of the old draft system. Names of all eligible draftees should be placed in a lottery. If your name is drawn - you go. If your name is not drawn - you don't. Although it's not quite that simple, this time, there should be no exemptions for college. Other exemptions, such as those for "critical personnel" should be rare and closely evaluated. There should also be consideration for families who already sacrificed one member defending our country. Lacking a draft, we have "A few good men" (and they are the best) are protecting the sorry behinds of those who do not wish to serve, many of whom heap insults, criticisms and yes, even lies, against those who do.
Just as America was attacked on 7 December 1941, America was also attacked on 11 September 2001 by an enemy more dangerous and evil than we could ever have anticipated, and still there are Americans who point their fingers and claim that it is we Americans who are to blame. "If only we understood them...," or, "If only we tried to reason with them..." just as Chamberlain had tried to reason with Adolph Hitler.
If we had fought World War II the way we are fighting the war in Iraq and Afghanistan today, our official language would be German. Instead of the kid-glove restrictions imposed on how we treat the Islamo-fascists who have vowed to kill the infidel (that's you and I, my friend, in case you haven't guessed), and the lawyer-imposed rules of engagement (ROEs) that are costing the lives of our warriors, the only concern, as one Marine put it, should be how to "facilitate their desire to go to Allah for a martyr's reward of being greeted by 72 virgins" but do it before they kill or injure an American GI or blow to pieces innocent civilian men, women and children?
As my Vietnam fighter-pilot husband once said, "If you're in a street fight and you fight by Marquis of Queensbury Rules and the other guy fights dirty, you're gonna lose!"
To put things into perspective:
As tragic as are the deaths of our GIs in the current war, approximately 5000 after almost five years of fighting, in less than the same length of time in World War Two, 400,000 were killed. Consider that The Battle of the Bulge lasted from December 16, 1944 to January 25, 1945 and was the largest battle of World War II in which the United States participated, 600,000 Americans (more than fought at Gettysburg ) fought for their lives. Although many dreamed of the day they could return to their families, too many of them did not make it home. At the conclusion of the battle there were 81,000 American casualties including 23,554 captured and 19,000 killed.
The battle for Iwo Jima was another costly campaign. What started as a quick, violent attack on February 19, 1945, turned into 36 days of some of the fiercest and bloodiest fighting the Marines had encountered. The first day saw 2,400 American casualties. By the end of the campaign 71,245 Marines had been put ashore; of these, 5,931 were killed in action, and 17,372 wounded and, in all, Allied forces suffered 27,909 casualties, with 6,825 killed in action. Those are the brutal consequences of war.
What is the difference today? The answer is that we are a much different country from the America I grew up in during World War II. We expect war without casualties. Politicians subordinate the war effort and the lives of our military to their political ambitions. The media sensationalizes every enemy attack and questions every action of our military, causing many to question, is it worth it?
But then, the media was on our side in World War II. And, as one Marine is quoted as saying , "America is not at war. The Marines are at war; America is at the mall."
Yeah, poll active duty personnel and see if they want draftees working along side them. This whole article is crap.
My husband's Reserve unit in the latter part of the Vietnam era had tons of problems with the folks who didn't want to be there. He thought they were more trouble than they were worth. There were a couple that they were about ready to knock on the head with an iron bar and dump in the sewer rather than put up with their B.S. any longer. Technically you had the option to send them active as punishment, but the Regular Army didn't want them either (natch) and would tie any referral up in red tape.
The officers all breathed a HUGE sigh of relief when Nixon stopped the draft.
While I think that military service will help every young person and they all should be encouraged to join I think the draft is a mistake.
Must be an election year. New Democrat scare tactic “If you vote for Republicans they will draft your kids”. Pulled this crap in 2004, 2006 and here it comes for 2008.
There is not one person in the US Military Command who thinks this would be a good idea.
The libtard dope smoking hippie protestors cannot get any traction on their anti-war agenda with a volunteer military. They need a draft to become relevant again.
That was what President Nixon did in 1969.
No.
Conventional War against a conventional nation state is vastly and totally different then Counter Insurgents against a terrorist movement. It utterly absurd to argue that we need to adopt the tactics of the first in order to fight that latter.
Just read a book about this battle (So Sad to Fall in Battle) written from the Japanese perspective.
The Japs at the time were just as committed to death and killing as the mulsim terrorist are today. Their goal was to kill as many Americans as possible, as then kill just one more as they died in glory for the emperor. Their goal was to inflict so many American casualties that the Americans would think twice about invading Japan or look for negotiations.
The Japs made good on their plan. It is one of the few pacific battles in which the Americans took more casualties than the Japanese (WIA + KIA).
In the end, the Americans won by massive firepower and killing anything that moved. One line that sticks out in my mind when the Japs were watching the Americans advance with flamethrowers, tanks and infantry, "They fight like they are exterminating insects."
Yep.
“What is the difference today? The answer is that we are a much different country from the America I grew up in during World War II. We expect war without casualties. Politicians subordinate the war effort and the lives of our military to their political ambitions. The media sensationalizes every enemy attack and questions every action of our military, causing many to question, is it worth it?”
And thus we have an “unpopular” war.
Even “conservatives” here and elsewhere, are willing to swallow this leftist propaganda as established fact.
The military gets to first attempt to fill their required slots. If any slots go wanting at the end of a 6 months cycle. Then those slots are fill by the closest degree to MOS match that can be made.
The draft pool would consist of the following stages. Stage 1 would be those college graduates who received Government grants. Stage two would be those college graduates who received interest free student loans. Stage three would be those college graduates who received government backed loans. Stage four would be those otherwise receiving government aid (well fare, subsidized housing, etc), and then Stage five the Selective Service registration. Lastly Stage six would be the general population.
However, draft should be limited to four years for non-combat, highly skilled positions and two years for combat positions (Active duty). The remaining balance of eight years to be served in Reserve/National Guard or civil service positions.
The Dems would love to have the draft if for no other reason than to accuse whatever future Rep administration of forcing unwilling draftees to fight an unpopular war. The argument would have more sting than attacking the all volunteer force.
Ding Ding Ding!!! We have a winner!
Rangel’s cunning little thought process was all too transparent:
Cripple the military by filling it with unwilling conscripts.
Bring back those happy, golden years of anti-draft demonstrations and campus riots.
If enough people are not willing to stand up and defend it, then what's the point?
Great article: despite the grammar, it poses an interesting question.
I am in favor of Compulsory Military Service, as opposed to a Draft.
The Draft wouldn’t work in todays America, that’s why we have an all volunteer military (supported by reserve units and the National Guard) After Viet Nam started the quality of draftees slowly eroded until my US Army became a cesspool.....
In todays world it would be impossible,( being politicaly correct and all) to baby sit the youth of this nation.....
Our country has degenerated into some kind of “resident brat” society...People from my generation are allowing their weak, self indulgent kids, and broken homed, grand kids to move into their houses with their little bastards, who come from single parent homes....
Hey, lets face it, this country is dryin’ up!!! Haaa! Haaa!
Soon well have to put women in our infantry line outfits, becaue NO able bodied red blooded,American male will stop volunteering for the military.....especially with the Dems in power because the Dems refuse to give the military the resorcess to fight a war to the finish...They thwart eveything in congress)
Women will run the military(thanks to political correctness) We’ll have a disaster on our hands.
The draft makes NO sense!
To fight a war, the nation has to be committed. A nation is committed by declaring war, officially not implied or otherwise. WW II was declared, Korea, Vietnam and Iraq were not. Without a war declaration you have a divided nation unwilling to provide the WW II overwhelming ground force needed to fight boots on the ground warfare.
Bush, nor have other world leaders, been able to rally their nation in a supreme effort as Roosevelt and Churchill did.
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