Bush's new war adviser considers bringing back the draft

[Raineyrocks]

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Frequent tours for U.S. forces in Iraq and Afghanistan have stressed the all-volunteer force and made it worth considering a return to a military draft, President Bush's new war adviser said Friday.
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Army Lt. Gen. Douglas Lute is the president's war adviser. Several retired generals turned down the post.

"I think it makes sense to certainly consider it," Army Lt. Gen. Douglas Lute said in an interview with National Public Radio's "All Things Considered."

"And I can tell you, this has always been an option on the table. But ultimately, this is a policy matter between meeting the demands for the nation's security by one means or another," said Lute, who is sometimes referred to as the "Iraq war czar." It was his first interview since he was confirmed by the Senate in June.

President Nixon abolished the draft in 1973. Restoring it, Lute said, would be a "major policy shift" and Bush has made it clear that he doesn't think it's necessary.

"The president's position is that the all-volunteer military meets the needs of the country and there is no discussion of a draft. Gen. Lute made that point as well," National Security Council spokesman Gordon Johndroe said.

In the interview, Lute also said that "Today, the current means of the all-volunteer force is serving us exceptionally well."

Still, he said the repeated deployments in Iraq and Afghanistan affect not only the troops but their families, who can influence whether a service member decides to stay in the military.
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"There's both a personal dimension of this, where this kind of stress plays out across dinner tables and in living room conversations within these families," he said. "And ultimately, the health of the all-volunteer force is going to rest on those sorts of personal family decisions."

The military conducted a draft during the Civil War and both world wars and between 1948 and 1973. The Selective Service System, re-established in 1980, maintains a registry of 18-year-old men.

Rep. Charles Rangel, D-New York, has called for reinstating the draft as a way to end the Iraq war.

Bush picked Lute in mid-May as a deputy national security adviser with responsibility for ensuring efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan are coordinated with policymakers in Washington. Lute, an active-duty general, was chosen after several retired generals turned down the job. E-mail to a friend E-mail to a friend





 
 




   


   

[Ogre]

I volunteered a couple years back to be on the local draft board, should they reinstate it.  I figure I can really screw some things up from the inside.

[Braddogg]

If they reinstated the draft, I'd definitely move to Canada.  Killing people isn't really my bag .  . .

[Vote Tyler Stearns]

We can solve this problem.  Get the hell out of Iraq and Afghanistan.  If they reinstate the draft, I hereby promise to help transport young men to Canada or hide you in my basement. 

[Braddogg]

If they reinstate the draft, I hereby promise to help transport young men to Canada or hide you in my basement. 

Shotgun! (haha)

[Caleb]

Are they that stupid?    Did they learn nothing from Vietnam? If they want to add a few dozen million people to our revolution, a draft is a great idea. 

[Puke]

I think a draft would be disastrous for our war-monger friends in DC. I really don't think there are too many Americans that would put up with that shit. Which would be good for us. It would still be bad for the few that do go though.

[Rochelle]

Ugh. This is one of the things my husband has been afraid of. In order to get a visa, you have to sign up for selective service. He'd be ineligible in a year, but he looked it all up and found out they tend to draft non-citizen residents first...

[E-ville]

They start the draft and i would hope NH removes its self from the union..  What about live free or die fits with the draft...  well I supose it fits, live free or literally die but for the wrong reasons  Also isn't there a slavery clause in the constitution..  Oh yeah, that thing doesn't matter any more... I forgot.

[Puke]

Slavery is A-OK as long as the gov't is our master.

[alohamonkey]

If they want to add a few dozen million people to our revolution, a draft is a great idea. 

Exactly.  Instituting the draft would be the greatest accelerant to our revolution.  As much as I don't want to see anyone else die in the war, instituting the draft is one of the quickest and easiest ways to mobilize the youth against the administration. 

[Raineyrocks]

Ugh. This is one of the things my husband has been afraid of. In order to get a visa, you have to sign up for selective service. He'd be ineligible in a year, but he looked it all up and found out they tend to draft non-citizen residents first...

Rochelle, that's horrible!   Could he just wait one more year?  I'm not sure if I know your situation, do you guys live together?  I remember reading about you having trouble getting a visa awhile back so you could go see him in Finland, (I think).

[Raineyrocks]

I think a draft would be disastrous for our war-monger friends in DC. I really don't think there are too many Americans that would put up with that shit. Which would be good for us. It would still be bad for the few that do go though.

I read some comments on bringing back the draft somewhere and a lot of people said it would be good for the punky young people.   What I think is that if the USA has another "terror" attack the majority of people would go along with the draft in an instant.   I hope I am wrong!