>Chuck wrote:
>Conscription = Slavery.
Exactly the kind of reaction from the population I would be hoping for. If there was a relatively random chance that anybody's kid could wind up in Iraq, in Canada, or in jail, the Bush administration could never have gotten away with their snow job. No way. As I understand it, virtually *NO* members of Congress have kids in the military; and of course, the Bush twins aren't serving, either. Like others in their position, they have the Cheney perogative: they have better things to do. It's a lot easier to ship someone else's kid off to combat.
The "all-volunteer army" isn't all it's cracked up to be, either, not when many thousands had to be impressed from the National Guard to make this war happen.
>What's even more idiotic are any progressives who attempt to defend
>this indefensible proposal.
Chuck, I thought you wanted people to oppose the state. A draft would go a long way to preventing future Iraqs. The draft was, in part, what broke the Vietnam war, in terms of fueling the resistance, and the breakdown of military discipline in the field. The Army fell apart. Soldiers refused to obey orders and the fragging of officers became rampant. Civilians can be pushed only so far, unlike those who see themselves as professionals whose job it is to follow whatever orders they get. It's been remarked upon how brutally American soldiers seem to have behaved in this war...perhaps that's been the expression of their "professionalism", or it could be they're taking displaced frustrations and rage out on the Iraqis, because talking back to power is against the professional military code. You're there "to do a job you signed up for"...
Creating a true warrior class has made the government more dangerous to the rest of the world.
Maria