1
A draft? In America? That's insane, that will never happen! The idea that America would institute another military draft after all these years of using an all-volunteer army is delusional thinking many might say. Well I'm here to tell you that this is not some kind of misguided notion; this is a potential reality, something that could happen before very long, given the fact that our current foreign policy is taking us ever closer to a permanent state of war. If we simply project our current military agenda and policies into the future, a draft cannot be avoided.
The draft, sometimes called conscription, has been used many times in American history and was a necessity during World War II. It stayed in effect through the Vietnam War. During that senseless military conflict multi-thousands of young Americans were drafted and what was did it accomplish? 58,000 U.S. troops died for no good reason; they were victims of the facilitators of war that controlled America at that time. These were young Americans that would never go to college, never get a job, nor have a family and lead a good life. They were drafted, they served their country honorably, lost their lives, and their families suffered enormously. The draft expired in 1973 when that war came to its inglorious end.
Since there is no draft today to threaten their children, what do parents think about our seemingly endless wars in Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan? Well, polls seem to indicate that about 60% of Americans do not believe that we should be involved with these wars. But are people screaming and yelling for our president and our Congress to immediately end them? Absolutely not because it is not affecting their personal lives, their children are not being killed; it's the children of all those "other people" out there somewhere. So it's really not a great worry or concern for most of us.
Do other nations have draft systems? While America, the United Kingdom, Canada, and Japan have no military draft, the majority of the nations of the world have either a compulsory draft or a limited one. Germany, France and Italy have limited drafts with specific exceptions allowed. Our greatest "ally" and recipient of billions of dollars in U.S. military aid, Israel, drafts men for three years and women for two, plus reserve duty of about one month in every year until the age of 54.
Right now it is unlikely that the U.S. government would institute a military draft, especially considering it has plenty of volunteers coming from the ranks of the unemployed who are desperate for any kind of paycheck. But two things could change this policy. In the first instance, if the current economic crisis would come to an end and our economy would once again add millions of jobs, then the combination of America's escalating wars and a large drop in volunteers could trigger a draft. That's still a long shot.
But let's do a "what-if analysis." What if the U.S. government, led by President Obama and the Pentagon does not follow through on the proposed July 2011 Afghanistan troop withdrawal? And, further, that the current illegal U.S. military incursions into Pakistan not only continue but are greatly escalated, resulting in much greater conflict within that country.
Now, let's take this hypothetical scenario even further into a situation that is not at all far fetched but could very well happen. The government of Israel and the large contingent of neocons and war hawks in Washington D.C. are continuing to beat the drums of war with Iran, the last impediment to the U.S. and Israel's domination of the Middle East. President Obama, the Nobel Peace (what, are you kidding me?) Prize laureate has stated on numerous occasions that "all options are still on the table" with regard to our policy with Iran; with the message being that war is not out of the question.
So, at this point let's see just where we stand relative to America's current and potential wars. The situation in Iraq is becoming very tenuous and a new civil war could break out between the Sunnis and the Shiites at any time. If that happens, Iran will greatly increase its involvement in Iraq and side with the Shiites who share their religion. If Iran becomes active in Iraq, even if operating beneath the surface, there is a good possibility that the U.S. and Israel would decide to launch an attack on its nuclear facilities and military installations.
Such an upheaval in Iraq, a new conflict with Iran, in combination with the current military actions in Afghanistan and Pakistan would stretch our already worn down military forces to the point of breakdown. With our military so heavily involved in the Middle East and Central Asia drastic actions by our government would have to be taken. What actions do you think that our president, the military leaders and the Congress would take?
Surprise! A military draft could be reinstituted in a very short time. That's what happened in the early days of World War II when America had to mobilize its military forces very quickly. America's current widely extended battlefield would call for many thousands of new recruits, primarily for the army and marines but also for the navy and air force. The Congress which normally indulges in endless debate before any actions are taken would have no problem passing draft legislation.
Still think that this can't happen? Well consider the scenario I have outlined and you might just agree that it is within the realm of reason. If a draft system becomes a reality the people of America will experience a great shock to their lives since their children will immediately become potential recruits. This would be a remake of the nightmare that many, many American parents had to endure as the Vietnam War took their children from their colleges or from the workplace and sent them into that hellhole of death.
If young Americans were suddenly were subject to the draft, how would people react to this tremendous shock to their lives? I think that they would react with massive anger and outrage that such a thing could happen in America. In the Vietnam War it took years for the American people and those subjected to the draft to react in great anger and protests but when it finally happened, the anti-war movement shifted into high gear and protested loudly and angrily. In today's America, I believe the anger and protests would not take years but would begin almost immediately. Things are so different when you are personally involved, aren't they?
America has quickly evolved from no wars in the year 2000 to the current aggressive military actions in the Middle East and Central Asia. This rapid expansion of the military empire gives every indication that there is more to come; it's called permanent war. As long as the majority of the American people remain passive and refuse to protest the agenda of the military war machine the closer that we will come to a military draft.
Today's facilitators of war are relentlessly pursuing their agenda designed specifically to expand the pervasive military empire around the world. In order to accomplish their objectives they will need more sacrifices from the American people; they will need more of America's young to fuel their wars and they will not hesitate to resurrect the draft when the time comes.
The biggest problem in America today is the incomprehensible silence and passivity of the people. We simply cannot continue to remain silent as we watch the wealth of America being fed into the black hole of permanent war. We have all heard that "real change" does not come from the top, it comes from the grass roots from the will of over 300 million Americans being exerted upon our government.
Those who will not fight to sustain and protect our democracy will be directly responsible for its death.
1 | 2
