If my country, the U.S.A., were faced with a genuine, serious, immediate, obvious military threat from a foreign power, then I would support a military draft of young men. Some of them would complain that old men like me are placing others, but not themselves, at risk. I would answer that charge by volunteering for some form of service where my life would also be in danger.
The above philosophical position is contrary to the one expressed in various articles you can find on Lewrockwell.com such as Will the Draft Rise from the Dead? by Robert Higgs, Gearing Up For the Next Military Draft by Jerome Tuccille or Against Military Conscription by Congressman Ron Paul, MD. The real issue, for me, is not philosiphical. It is way too easy for our leaders to pretend that the U.S.A. faces the kind of dangers that would justify a draft. Furthermore, the U.S.A. is so powerful that maintaining military preparedness with volunteer forces and exercising competent statecraft and diplomacy should suffice to discourage the kind of aggression that could only be repelled by mass armies.
When a country is threatened with invasion, all citizens have obligations. It is the duty of men who are capable of taking up arms and using them to do that.
But we have no duty at all to support the imperialist agenda of a sinister clique. On July 9, 2004, a report by a committee of the U.S. Senate blamed our unwarranted decision to invade Iraq on "intelligence failures." A few days later, President Bush defended his decision with these words:
"I had a choice to make," he said. "Either take the word of a madman, or defend America. Given that choice, I will defend America every time." (USATODAY.com - Bush defends decision to invade Iraq)Not being one to discard a zippy line, Bush said in his RNC acceptance speech:
Do I forget the lessons of Sept. 11th and take the word of a madman, or do I take action to defend our country? Faced with that choice, I will defend America every time. (Yahoo! News - Text of President Bush's RNC Speech)I wonder -- did it take 9-11 to teach G.W.B. not to listen to whackjobs? In any case, rousing declamations about defending America are not the same as defending it. Bush's true interest in defending America is revealed in his actual support for the hordes invading us from the south. Read VDare.com - The MexiChurian Candidate? by Brenda Walker for details. Another good read from VDare.com is: Hijacking Of H.R.10 Reveals Terrifying Truth--Bush Really Believes Own Propaganda by Sam Francis. Vincente Fox, of course, is not a madman -- he's just a clever politician who knows how to squeeze a few big favors from his little buddy to the north.
Given the situation we are in, I oppose a draft and I encourage everyone else to oppose a draft. Rising to the defense of a nation is one thing, but the young men (and women!) of America should feel no obligation to go cavorting armed all over the world in service of imperial dreams of a man whose main justification for wanton agression is his disinclination to believe the words of lunatics.
We should all be similarly disinclined. If Congress, spurred by the insane ambitions of the Bush administration, tries to re-implement the draft, we should say, in unison, "No way, Jorge!"
Interesting article on the draft this morning in
AntiWar.com:
A Draft After the Elections? by Murray Polner.
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