By Ezra Klein: The Bush administration's VA Secretary, Jim Nicholson, just said that our society would benefit from "replacing the all-volunteer force with a tough draft purged of the deferments that allowed many to avoid service in Vietnam." Meanwhile, Mark Krikorian wants a draft so we have a bigger military to fight more awesome wars. And Charlie Rangel wants a draft so we have a more diverse military that will make it nearly politically impossible to fight any wars. Meanwhile, I don't want a draft because, unlike Krikorian, Rangel, and Nicholson, I'd actually be vulnerable to it, so such a plan looks less like an awesome political theory abstraction and more like my life would be in the hands of the fools and knaves currently running our government. I didn't feel this way about national service a few years ago, incidentally. But one effect of the Iraq War was to shred any illusions that our leaders are wise and prudent and take seriously the lives entrusted to their care.

Labels: draft, Iraq war, military

By Ned Lamont: If you believe the Churchillian rhetoric, it's time to move from Donald Rumsfeld's minimalist force to Colin Powell's overwhelming force. To do that, you must prepare the American people for the real costs of war, financial and human - with the prospect of higher taxes and a draft; and you must sober up the people to the fact that we will be in Iraq a long time, as long as necessary to transform the country and the region. To stay or to go - we cannot have it both ways... Sen. John McCain said we must send the troops necessary to win the war; otherwise, it is "immoral" to leave our outnumbered troops to die. It is high time for Washington to decide. Splitting the difference is politically palatable, but it is the coward's way out and simply delays the inevitable.

Labels: draft, Iraq war