There has been some increased talk lately about a possible draft in the news and the "blog-o-sphere". The reason is the administration (Cheney) has been ramping up the rhetoric against Iran, and it's getting to the point where it's down right frightening.
So, first point. WAKE THE FUCK UP! If you don't know why I'm worried, you're not paying attention. I'm not gonna save you the trouble of finding the information yourselves, I don't have the time right now (I'll probably do it in an edit though). We can't handle Iraq as it is, and we're going to invade a country that is about three times as large with about three times the population? The truth is if we do attack Iran, we probably won't actually put boots on the ground, rather we'll just bomb the crap out of stuff we think looks suspicious. Sounds like a good idea, hell it's worked everywhere else we've ever done it right? Seriously though, don't take the threats we're making against Iran lightly. Attacking them would only be about the 3rd craziest thing the administration has ever done.
So to my main point. If we do go to war with Iran, guess what, we're going to need a draft. It will become impossible to sustain a military presence over there without one. Now I personally think that it would be the dumbest thing in the world to get into a war with Iran, but I also think that a war with Iran could have terrible consequences for the US and it's allies, and that if we do get into that war, we SHOULD have a draft. Hell, part of me thinks we should have a draft now for Iraq, that we should have pissed or got off the fucking pot long ago with this war, instead of limping along half-assed accomplishing nothing while our troops get killed. If there's a cause that is ACTUALLY worth fighting for, then we should put that burden on our entire nation, not just on the poorest among us.(of course, Iraq isn't that cause, and Iran wouldn't be either.)
First, people in this country who think "well I don't see why I should have to go fight if there's a draft, I'll go to Canada!", or "why should I have to go when there are poor people willing to go?". Your missing an important point, without which you can reach those selfish conclusions. As a citizen of this country, you were born into a contract with this nation that they will provide for you all of the things a country provides its citizens with. Protection, education, health care, and most importantly, opportunity. How many people make it big in other countries compared with America? Being an American gives you an instant advantage over 95% of the rest of the world's population, and yet the moment people strike it big they all think that it's because of their inherent gifts, that they earned it all themselves. Your advantage being born in America is that you weren't born anywhere else! Compared to the rest of the world being born in America is like winning the fucking lottery. So when your country asks something of you in return, you better damned well be willing to give it. Think that isn't fair? You didn't choose to be born into a system where you might have to go off to war? Tough. Too damned bad. No one gets to choose how they start in this world, and if you don't feel lucky for where you're at, and are willing to fight to defend other people's opportunity for the same life then you're too spoiled selfish to consider yourself an American.
Ok, I'm gonna calm down a bit because I'm actually not that harsh, I just get worked up. And the truth is, I'm not walking my ass over to a recruitment office any time soon. That's the point though, you don't have to be willing to sacrifice your life for some misguided cause to be a patriot. I sure as shit don't want to go get shot in Iraq, because it would be for nothing. But the way that you avoid having to make that sacrifice is to keep your country from making those mistakes. You may find politics the most boring thing in the world, but it's part of that contract you signed by being born (or by becoming a citizen another way). You're not sitting in a desert in Iraq right now, so the least you could do is stay informed, vote, even donate your time. It's your duty as an American.
EDIT:
Here's links to some scary ass Iran related saber rattling
http://www.time.com/time/printout/0,8816,1654188,00.html
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20343131/
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19190994/
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,293285,00.html
6 comments:
Why is it that it's the left that seems to be calling for a draft? Is it that war turns them cold so they feel a "draft" coming on? We will need to be prepared but I don't know that a draft will be necessary.
Iraq is merely a front in the war with the Jihadists who have made over 9000 terrorist attacks world wide since 9/11 (www.thereligionofpeace.com). We could try to leave them alone, but I do NOT think that they will leave us alone.
OK, first off thanks for the comment. But I have to take a HUGE exception with the point you made about leaving them alone. WE HAVE NEVER LEFT THEM ALONE. We manipulate their politics, install dictators, back insurections, buy all of their oil out from under them, build military bases in their "holy lands", and forcably remove any rulers that we don't approve of. If we left them completely alone, yes, they would leave us completely alone. How many times did they attack canada or australia or mexico? Only now that australia and canada have had some part in the iraq war are they being targeted.
As for the draft, of course we'll need one if we start another war! We barely have the troops enough to manage the occupation of iraq, and you don't think a draft will be necessary to start another war? I seriously would love to hear why you think that is so. Not just because you "don't think" we'll need it, I want you to tell me why you don't think so.
Ah yes, the old "America can do no right syndrome." That's why we had to start the Crusades...er. wait, that was before our time. And as bad as the Crusades where, they were a response to the previous 300+ years of aggression by the Jihadists. They will never leave us alone unless we submit to them.
I started my military career during the draft. I believe the quality and the character of the troops improved when they joined voluntarily. It's not the number of troops but the quality that matters. If we cannot get enough inductees without forcing them, then maybe our country isn't worth it anymore and we should let it fall. So, no! I don't believe we need a draft.
Ok, so I don't want to get killed for a cause I don't believe in, but I still appreciate the freedoms I enjoy living in this country. I also realize freedom isn't free, and if I was chosen in a draft, so be it. So how does one stop a draft from even happening? Riot in the streets? Write to my Congressman? What do you intend on doing? Also, when does a government become so out of touch with it's people that the people overturn it? When does civil disobedience become necessary? I thought my tolerance had been reached long ago with the bullshit that goes on, but apparently it was just my apathy due to the larger population's apparent disinterest.
Tim, the most important thing to do is to stay informed, and to make your views known. That means talking to friends and family as much as it does writing to congressmen or writing editiorials in local newspapers.
Ok, so if you think that the "Jihadists" will never stop attacking us, what is your proposed solution? Would you conquer and subjigate the entire middle east? Perhaps convert them all to christianity? Of course not, because then you would be the same as them right?
As for our military, I completely agree that a draft would "water down" the quailty of our armed forces. I don't think a draft would be necessary because our military isn't good enough, only because it isn't BIG enough. We're already stretched so thin that recruiting standarts are dropping and tours are being extended, and that's just for the mess we're already in. If we start another conflict with Iran, I don't see how we'll have enough troops without a draft. I honestly want to know how you think we would manage that conflict without resorting to a draft.
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