Behind talk of a new draft: equity

Even should there be a draft, it would take many months before new draftees could begin to fill the need in Iraq, says retired Army Col. Dan Smith, senior fellow at the Friends Committee on National Legislation, the Quaker lobby in Washington.

First, there would be prolonged congressional debate, likely followed by legal challenges over exemptions and the general fairness of the system, says Colonel Smith, a West Point graduate and Vietnam War veteran. Then it would take more time to develop training programs and produce equipment.

"These are the practical constraints," he adds. "Sociologically, I don't think the country will stand for reinstituting the draft over a threat that is not mortal."

There are philosophical and ethical issues involved as well.

A draft "contradicts the principles of a free society by coercing people to fight for freedom," says Ivan Eland, national security analyst at the Independent Institute in Oakland, Calif. "Soldiers who want to be in the military do a better job than those who don't, and the military services know it."

As with Vietnam, public concern about the possibility of conscription is useful to those who oppose the Iraq war.

"It seems to me the issue is about making it more difficult for policymakers to use the military instrument without full support of the American public," says retired Air Force Col. Sam Gardiner.

Retired US Naval Reserve Capt. John Allen Williams agrees.

"Rangel's bringing it up for political reasons," says Dr. Williams, a professor of political science at Loyola University Chicago. "But you know what? He's right. If we have some mechanism that links the military to civilian society in a way that spreads the burden around when you use the military, it's less likely to be used. On the other hand, once it is used it's more likely to be used in a total way – people are going to want to get it over with."

Military sociologist Moskos's answer is a three-tier system of required public service for all young men and women: uniformed military service, homeland security jobs (guarding borders, ports, nuclear plants, and other sites), or civilian tasks such as teaching in poor neighborhoods and helping the elderly.

No school loans or other education benefits should be awarded unless the recipient serves in one of those three areas for a year or two, says Moskos.

Still, at this point in a drawn-out war with no clear light at the end of the political and military tunnel, a return to the draft seems unlikely.

"It is too late to win popular support for conscription," says Loren Thompson, a national security expert at the Lexington Institute in Arlington, Va. "The public has turned against the war. Proposing a draft now will simply hasten the collapse of domestic support for the war effort."

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