The return of the draft?

[Wlfgng]

Air.. where ya been man?

[Chanter]

Some more info regarding Canadian concripts in WWII:

MacKenzie King's big saying of the day was: "Conscription if necessary, but not necessarily conscription!" (hehe, weasle speak exemplified)

It started with the passing of the National Resources Mobilization Act (NRMA) in 1940 which gave the gov't the power to use the Nation's manpower as it saw fit.  This disturbed Quebec, so MacKenzie King stated that the NRMA related "soley and exclusively to the defence of Canada on our own soil and in our own territorial waters."

As the war progressed, MacKenzie King finally acquiesced to most of his cabinet colleagues and in Nov 1944, Parliament voted to send 16,000 NRMA men overseas.  In the end, only 13,000 of them went overseas.  2,463 served in the front line, and 69 were killed.

Although his conscription policy limited the potential damage to national unity, it did deprive the army of the resources it needed, when it needed them.

[hardcase]

The affluent always evade the draft. Since its enceptionl, the draft kills the Low Socio-Economic groups. The movie about gangs in New York was based on riots during the first draft in the Civil War. You could buy your way out of the draft with 300 dollars or paying someone to go for you. The Draft will never return.

Nothing like fighting for a Political War. Nam, Mcnamara quit when it was decided to have a war of attrition to show the North that the US was more than willing to kill its poor to support corrupt regimes.

HC

[Toad]

Too bad McNamara didn't refuse the job from Kennedy. We'd have all been better off.

He was the one sitting behind the Secretary of Defense desk from the time US troop levels in VietNam went from ~1000 to  485,600 in 1968.

He was the one overseeing US military policy in VietNam throughout that time. He was the one so micromanaging the war that he and Lyndon were picking the fighter/bomber targets from the White House.

IMO, he resigned because he finally realized what an incredible, unsalvagable mess he had made of it and how many US soldiers his foolish policies had needlessly killed.

I hope it still gives him nightmares to this day.'

Just my .02.

So far, he's set the standard by which all other imbecilic civilian politicos that try to micro manage modern warfare will be judged.

[funkedup]

Originally posted by AKDejaVu
There is no immediate threat and there is a decent economy.  With both of these conditions, we would have to effectively turn military compounds into prisons to keep the conscripts there.

AKDejaVu

Shack!

[Gunthr]

It doesn't appear to me that we need to do this at all, for the good reasons already mentioned. Someday, things may change, but for now we seem to be doing fine with our professional soldiers.

Anyway, attempting to make foreign policy this way is an insult to every voter. If Rangel actually pushes mandatory service, he may well lose a chunk of his raging liberal base. I can't see him doing that.

I salute Rangel's service in Korea (as a draftee?) but I think this is just another creative way the dems will try to wield political power without actually having it...

[TWOLF]

Is a draft a good idea for America?

  Not no but hell no.  I am a reservist.  I also served in the regular Army for 16 years.  I don't want some conscript with barely a clue in the foxhole with me.  I am no longer in combat arms, but I still don't want someone serving with me that do not want to be there.  You can't trust them.  The best thing that ever happened to the United States Military in terms of the Quality of the Soldiers, Sailors, and Airmen that serve was to get rid of the draft.
  Freedom isn't free.  I know, and appreciate this fact probably a lot better then most of you.  I served on the East/West German border, The Persian Gulf, and in Yugoslavia.  I have seen the fruits of Communism staring me in the face with an AK47 attached to it.  One of the many reasons I volunteered in 1979, 1989, and a third time on Sept. 12 2001 was because this Country needs Soldiers that understand the Constitution, and believe in the Oath that is taken when entering service.  No one should be forced to serve.  If they are, it defeats the very idea of freedom. Patriotism is Voluntary or it isn't real. When folks start spouting on about how everyone should be forced to serve, I suggest that they should move to China, or North Korea.  Their fascist Ideas would fit right in.  Not to mention I think they fail to grasp how the modern battle field functions.  No current General wants Cannon Fodder.  That is all a conscript is good for.  They want thinking fighting soldiers that understand the complex weapons and tactics that make our Military the Finest on the Planet.