Anyone who has followed the Gulf wars and the war in Afghanistan knows that our military is stretched too thin. In addition we are having to use the National Guard to fight wars, something that was only viewed as a last resort in the past. Given the current situation in the world we need a much larger military and the only fair way to build it is with a draft that is evenly applied. Our current professional military does a fine job. However, it needs a break. Too many redeployments too close together totally destroy their family lives and put an unfair burden on their capable shoulders. If we were honest and were willing to put politics aside we would come to the conclusion that a draft would enable us to rebuild our fighting forces at a much lower cost than would otherwise be the case. What is wrong in asking our young men and women to give something back to the country they live in? I joined and served proudly many years ago and I suggest others do so as well.

Nothing's wrong with serving one's country as long as it really IS service to the country and not service to the egos of politicians. Vietnam was never a threat to our national security and Johnson, Rusk, Nixon and Kissinger escalated and prolonged that war only to "prove" that they were not "soft on communism." We're in Iraq, another country that did not attack us, because Bush is obsessed with proving to his daddy that he's not the failure he's always been, and Cheney is obsessed with oil. When our children were babies, as their parents we promised each other that we'd send them to Canada before we'd ever let them be drafted to fight in the wrong war. They're now beyond draft age, but our feelings have not changed.

HIGH FIVE!

I agree. We have lost to many soldiers. Bush is depleating our military to the point where we aren't going to be able to defend ourselves on our own shores.

No we don't. We need to stop wasting lives in areas where the killing will never stop. Let them kill themselves, which is something they will do anyway, forever.

Our military is the right size. The problem is that we're sending our fighting forces to into countries (cough cough Iraq) where they don't need to be. This has also lowered the number of voluteers for the military, because many people don't want to risk their lives fighting in a pointless war.

If we were honest, we would leave Iraq. It's going to happen eventually, and since it's not getting any better we might as well leave now.

There are plenty of ways for young people to serve our country without murdering foreign citizens and getting needlessly killed.

No, we don't need a larger military. We need to stop invading other countries halfway across the globe. The United States already has an incredibly large military, larger than any other developed country. And it's not being used for defense right now, unless you can somehow tell me that invading Iraq and Afghanistan is "defense."

Do you know how blatantly political you sound? We are at war with terrorists who any day now will hit the US with another 9-11 type attack. To bury ones head in the sand because it requires no sacrifice is not a strategy. We need to face up to our problems instead of playing politics with every important issue of our tiome.

Yes...let's face our true problems...not the fear mongering ones the right envisions.

Why is the US...or why "should" the US, be exempt from attacks? It's perfectly OK to you if we go anywhere in the world and drop bombs and murder innocents...to "protect our way of life"...

Politics is exactly the game you are playing...yet you wish to label others as doing so.

We are stretched thin because of inefficiencies and poorly executed campaigns...not because we are too small. A larger military means more...more death, more destruction...and more enmity. Occupying lands is NOT a defensive posture...

the reason the military is stretched "thin" is the lack of enlistees eager to go into war.

instituting the draft would actually INCREASE casualties, for 2 obvious reasons -

• draftees are less motivated, less qualified, less well trained
• greater boots on the ground necessarily means greater casualties

i'm well aware that the current iraqi conflict has historically/dramatically low casualty rates, compared to other wars with equal or greater deployments and conflict duration.

that said, history holds no examples of an invading force quelling a factional civil war between different ethnic/tribal interests, does it?

really - who is planning to invade america with troops - that our own national guard could repel?

if you're worried about another attack on our soil, it'll probably come from above - iranian or korean nukes.

betcha you'll blame bush for not accelerating the missle defense shield if that ever happens

I agree that our military is stretched too thin. I agree that these people put their lives on the line, sacrifice themselves and their families for what they feel is their patriotic duty. However, if we were really honest with ourselves as a nation, we would not be in Iraq still, nor debating the possibility of reinstating the draft.
I have no problem with people wanting to give back to their country, but how dare you suggest that this be forced upon anyone? How can you even entertain the thought of asking a teenager to go and possibly die for something he doesn't believe in because Bush has made a mess of things and wants to plunge in further?
I have considered enlisting, because I do appreciate this country and the people that serve, but I am just not willing to sacrifice myself for someone's political agenda, and no one should be asked to either.
And if, God forbid, the draft does get reinstated, I will personally take my eighteen year old brother to Canada.

I agree with much that you said. I hate this war, but there isn't enough popular resistance to it to get us extracted from what is essentially a civil war. If the draft was reinstated, you would see people get off their duffs and demand that we get out of this unnecessary war Boy George pushed us into. Then we would see the growth of a real anti-war movement in this country. As of now, it doesn't hurt enough people in this country.

Just as a matter of curiosity, when and where did you serve? I served in the HQUSASAE in Frankfurt, Germany. Always looking for some of my buddies from those days.

dreamworld:

Do you know how blatantly political you sound? We are at war with terrorists who any day now will hit the US with another 9-11 type attack. To bury ones head in the sand because it requires no sacrifice is not a strategy. We need to face up to our problems instead of playing politics with every important issue of our tiome.

What a pathetic thing to say. Of course we sound political, because we are recognizing that there have been terrible political and strategic decisions made in the war on terror. One of these was invading Iraq.

I don't know anyone who has anything less than the utmost respect for our soldiers who are giving the sacrifice that you demand. I also know plenty of people, myself included, who do not believe that the fight in Iraq has made us any safer - much to the contrary.

It is disrespectful to those who do choose to fight to argue that they can and should be sent anywhere at the whims of the president to fight and die, regardless of the mission's merit. Worse still to defend a wrong decision by claiming that opposition to Bush's ever-worsening decision to fight in Iraq is "burying one's head in the sand."

So yes, you're damn right this is a political issue. Our soldiers should have confidence that the mission they serve is for the good of the country. It is at the very core of who we are to know that when we fight, it is for a good cause. This administration has done more than any other in history to pervert that trust, and further endanger this nation while hiding behind petty calls for gutless patriotism which you so willingly mimic.

We don't need a larger military, we just need politicians with larger brains.

Actaully, we need to stop being the worlds bully and just these non-enlightened countries figure stuff out for themselves like the rest of the civilizeed world.