James Baker Backs Reinstating the Draft
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."
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Reader Comments
No way
This is ridiculous. I will NOT fight for a war that I have NO belief in what so ever. Politicians should be fighting their own damned wars and not forcing the youth of the nation to throw their lives away for oil. If I were drafted into the military you can bet your ass I would go fighting and not even blink at doing anything in my power to get out of it. If I hear the draft is actually going to be instated, im taking all finances I have available and getting the hell out of this country. I would have fought in WWI or WWII because it actually stood for something. I will not fight for a corrupt capitalist based government only interested in their own financial and power gains.
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?
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