2008 Woodie Awards
Draft Issue Needs Vital College Debate
U-WIRE
Issue date: 11/20/03 Section: Opinions
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(U-WIRE) LAWRENCE, Kan. - Despite reassurance from the White House and the Pentagon, the fear of a military draft has become all the more strikingly conspicuous in the past few weeks. Dave Lindorff, a writer for The Nation, reported early last week that the Department of Defense has recently begun to fill some of the 10,000 vacancies on draft boards across the country. If the draft, which ended in 1973, was brought back, these boards would be a key component. The politics of a draft are no stranger on college campuses, the University of Kansas included. In an election year the emotionally charged issue might compel the youth voters to actually care, which makes the relative lack of discussion all the more disturbing.
Reports of American military power being stretched too thin seem to reoccur every few weeks, and, with new military commitments, the problem only seems to grow. The Bush Doctrine has, until late, been a remarkably effective political strategy, and has shown few signs of slowing. Progress in Iraq, despite administration protests, seems slow at best, and the articulation of an "exit plan" seems to be desperately in need of a strategy surely to be provided by Rush Limbaugh and his return to radio today. Ironically, congressional democrats have been some of the most vocal proponents of a return to conscription. Rep. Charles Rangel, D-New York, called for a return to the draft at the beginning of the conflict in Iraq, and, along with Sen. Fritz Hollings, D-South Carolina, introduced bills to that effect.
The need for conscription in purely military terms is a hotly contested issue, and the political implications seem enormous. Unlike Vietnam-era drafts, which seemed to offer a number of ways to avoid service for those who could afford college, Lindorff reports that "that's all been changed. In a new draft, college students whose lottery number was selected would only be permitted to finish their current semester; seniors could finish their final year."
Reports of American military power being stretched too thin seem to reoccur every few weeks, and, with new military commitments, the problem only seems to grow. The Bush Doctrine has, until late, been a remarkably effective political strategy, and has shown few signs of slowing. Progress in Iraq, despite administration protests, seems slow at best, and the articulation of an "exit plan" seems to be desperately in need of a strategy surely to be provided by Rush Limbaugh and his return to radio today. Ironically, congressional democrats have been some of the most vocal proponents of a return to conscription. Rep. Charles Rangel, D-New York, called for a return to the draft at the beginning of the conflict in Iraq, and, along with Sen. Fritz Hollings, D-South Carolina, introduced bills to that effect.
The need for conscription in purely military terms is a hotly contested issue, and the political implications seem enormous. Unlike Vietnam-era drafts, which seemed to offer a number of ways to avoid service for those who could afford college, Lindorff reports that "that's all been changed. In a new draft, college students whose lottery number was selected would only be permitted to finish their current semester; seniors could finish their final year."