The battlefield death of Senator Baucus's nephew and the enlistment of Senator John McCain's son in the Marines take the edge off of what I am about to suggest. However, they are the exceptions, I think, that prove the rule. I believe the best way to cool our cowboy diplomacy is to reinstate the draft—including women—and allow no deferments. That way the children of those making the decision for war will be included in the forces charged with waging it.

Our current system ensures that only those suffering financial need, those with little hope of upward mobility, will end up in the armed services. We are now paying bonuses for enlistments and reenlistments, but they are nowhere near enough to attract the well-heeled or well connected. Making comparisons with World War II, I suppose, is futile. But, it was a time when almost everyone was involved, including a large number of women. President Roosevelt's sons were in uniform and some of them saw action. By the time Vietnam rolled around, many, including our current bellicose leaders, were able to secure deferments, in some cases, several of them. A universal draft would provide a real test of the commitment to whatever cause was being trumpeted.

A war that was justified because it connected to our jointly held values would likely be popular enough to attract a good cross section of our society. The hype that led to the fiasco in Iraq involved no such cross section, especially if we focus on the troops. They carried little or no weight in the decision making of our leadership. Had it been otherwise, had we seen more of the children of our leaders in uniform, we'd hear less stay the course, fewer accusations of cut and run, and more of the value of diplomacy. We'd hear a lot more about the need for a draw down of forces in Iraq. With a universal draft, we would be better prepared for war, and in all likelihood, we would never have stood for the invasion of Iraq in the first place. We might even be positioned to affect the peace process in the Middle East. Shalom.

Posted by Wes Randolph   |   Friday, August 04, 2006