At It Again
Rangel calls for the re-introduction of the draft. I'm calling for a re-introduction of the argument over it on Optimates! Is his proposal for real, or a political ploy? Either way, what do you think of it?
posted by Joshua @ 5:17 PM
3 Comments:
I am pretty sure it's just a political ploy. Rangel is known as a populist. As for the substance of his argument, if it were really indespensable to the well-being of our country, it would have been re-introduced a long time ago. The fact that so few members of the Congress, or for that matter, members of the military are speaking out on the issue just goes to show that it's a wedge issue.
"If it were really indespensable to the well-being of our country, it would have been re-introduced a long time ago."
I have to say, you're giving Congress a lot of credit here. Does this line of thinking mean that, if a piece of legislation has been voted down, it's quite dispensable?
But more to the issue. As I've said before, I favor conscription in principle (here I break with many of my libertarian-conservative fellow travelers). For starters, I reject the argument that a volunteer army is inherently more effective than a conscript army. This argument's most likely evidence is the Vietnam War, where draftees often came into conflict with their own officers. But I think this tells us more about the Vietnam War than the efficacy of draftees: the professional military class mismanaged the war. When the professional core of the military is efficient and disciplined, conscript fighting men and woman can (and will) be just as effective as professionals.
So really, it comes down to whether you think, all things being equal, the government has the right to draft. I think it certainly does. If citizens are to obtain the benefits of our foreign policy, and (as voters) are to direct that policy through the Legislative and Executive, they should also have the responsibility of seeing through their decisions, if necessary. If they assent to a war that needs more manpower than the current amount, they should understand conscription may be required.
I agree with you in that the government definitely has a right to draft. But is it really necessary to make our military more efficient? I would want to read extensive opinions from the generals before signing off on anything. I don't think Rangel (or the rest of the Congress), took that into consideration at any point, which is why I tend to think for him it was more of a political stunt than a real suggestion.
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