|
REPLY TO THREAD
|
|
Subject
|
DOES MORE WAR REQUIRE A DRAFT? by Brent Budowsky ALSO: Mission Accomplished: How Bush and Republicans Destroyed the Military by A. Alexander
|
|
User Name
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Font color:
Font:
|
|
|
|
|
|
Original Message
|
"Having been involved in intelligence and military matters for more than two decades, this much is clear: we cannot sustain our commitments today; with any additional wars to fight, we will be left with only two choices: either inadequate forces creating more Iraqs, or adequate forces that can only be maintained through a revival of the draft, no matter what it is called. That is the fact."
www.consortiumnews.com/2006/082306a.html
[link to www.consortiumnews.com]
snip
Does More War Require a Draft?
By Brent Budowsky
August 24, 2006
Editor's Note: In this guest essay, political analyst Brent Budowsky says policymakers and pundits favoring a wider war in the Middle East must be asked about ominous signs that the Bush administration's proclivity for war means some form of military draft is in America's future:
The involuntary recall of 3,500 Marines to active duty, required by personnel shortages for the war in Iraq, on top of previous extensions of deployment schedules for active-duty troops and reserves, demands an answer to this question: Is America headed for a return to the draft, either by that traditional name or in some other form?
The problem is simple: the United States went to war in Iraq without sufficient numbers of troops leading to inevitable problems. My view has always been that it would have been better for the President to have finished the job of killing bin Laden in Afghanistan, rather than cutting and running on that job, and helping bin Laden escape, to charge into an unwise war in Iraq.
Once the decision to wage war in Iraq was made, the manner with which it was conducted created inevitable and catastrophic results that have caused major, long-term damage to American force structures, recruitment and restocking of equipment that will cost many billions of dollars to replace.
Many thoughtful Republicans, such as Sen. Chuck Hagel, have raised these issues from the beginning. Even Sen. John McCain, one of the strongest supporters of the war, has always understood the implications of troop strength and force structure, and now criticizes the President for not leveling with the American people on the consequences and cost of the war.
|
|
Pictures (click to insert)
|
 |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | | | Next Page >> |
|
