Sunday, November 22, 2009

Nation & World

Washington Whispers by Paul Bedard

James Baker Backs Reinstating the Draft

May 03, 2009 01:19 PM ET | Paul Bedard | Permanent Link | Print

By Paul Bedard, Washington Whispers

Rep. Charlie Rangel, Congress's lone champion of reinstating the military draft, can count on another Korean War-era vet for support: Republican James Baker, a soldier in the Reagan and Bush administrations. Baker, secretary of state during the first Gulf War, visited a private girls' school in Virginia, where he was asked how to attract kids into some kind of service that gives them a stake in the country's future. "This is a very unpopular thing that I am about to say," he warned. "But one thing that makes it harder to go to war is to have a draft, because when you have a draft, then everybody's got a stake in it, and the costs of war are brought home much more vividly and vigorously to the American people. I think national service is a wonderful idea." But unlikely, he conceded: "You get killed if you support a draft, politically, but it sure would raise the stakes. Everybody would understand a lot better what we have at stake when we go to war."

Follow Paul and Nikki on Twitter.

Check out more Washington Whispers.

Tags: James Baker

Tools: Share | | Comments (145) | Print

Reader Comments

Draft

I'm with Jimmy of AZ. How can you force people to fight for a cuase that they don't agree with any way? I'm aginst having KIDS go to war. That is Americas future genoration people! I know that is I was drafted I would fight going with every fiber of my body. I would go live in a war zone before joining the militay. The only reason we even got involved overseas was becuase of oil, the bombings was just an excuse.

Draft

Since 1975, the Us Military has been an all volunteer force. Adding draftees would lower the standard of the average soldier, as they would be less inclined to train as hard or have the same desire to succeed as a volunteer. Also, given that todays military is a lot more technological than in the past, it seems to me that a draftee probably wouldn't have the time to learn about the complex weapons systems we have and be a liability in combat. Add to that the fact that the Army has already lowered its standards for entry, due to the increased tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan, and we see a lot more recruits with felony waivers. Should we further devalue the military by introducing people who don't want to be there in the first place?

draft

ya man like you said it would help our crime rate an lot and help kids make something out of there life. also i think that all kids from ages 18to27 should at lest serve there country from 2 to three years It would help and lot of kids and adults

Add your thoughts

Your comment will be posted immediately, unless it is spam or contains profanity. For more information, please see our Comments FAQ.

advertisement

Subscribe Today

U.S. News Weekly promotional image, for Washington Whispers

Want Your Whispers First?

Get the original Washington Whispers in an all new digital form. Check out U.S. News Weekly today.

advertisement

NEWSLETTER

Sign up today for the latest headlines from U.S. News & World Report delivered to you free.

RSS FEEDS

Personalize your U.S. News with our feeds of blogs and breaking news headlines.

U.S. NEWS MOBILE

U.S. News daily briefings are also available on your mobile device.

Bobbles Poll: Thanksgiving Guest

Obama, Huckabee, Palin and Pelosi Bobbleheads, Washington Whispers

It's time to start filling up the Thanksgiving dinner guest list. Which political figure would you like as a guest?

View Results

Put Washington Whispers on Your Site

Keep up with all the latest Washington news and gossip by adding our Washington Whispers widget to your website.

Get this widget ยป

Twitter and Facebook

facebook and twitter icons

Whispers on the Web

Friend Paul on Facebook.

Follow Paul on Twitter.

Use of this Web site constitutes acceptance of our Terms and Conditions of Use and Privacy Policy.
Make USNews.com your home page.