Stay the Course in Iraq = the Draft (by Jon Soltz at HuffPost)

[marmar]

Jon Soltz
Stay the Course in Iraq = the Draft
Posted August 13, 2007 | 04:58 PM (EST)



As detailed in Paul Krugman's column this morning, when challenged whether his kids would sign up for military service, Mitt Romney said that his kids were serving the nation... by working for his campaign. Frankly, I haven't heard something so funny since Al Bundy on Married with Children said, "I served my nation... I played High School football!"

Here's the thing, though. Romney's kids better sign up, along with all the chickenhawks under age 42 (I'm lookin' at you, Michelle Malkin), because the Republican candidates' Johnny-come-lately notion that we need to increase the size of our active duty component is inconsistent with staying the course in the war in Iraq. In fact, the only way to do both is to reinstate the draft. Maybe the President's war czar heard Romney's comments when he said the draft was on the table.

Like I said, the idea that we need to increase the size of the force isn't new. John Kerry proposed it during his 2004 campaign. Frankly, it's something we need to do, in preparation for the long war against terrorists we have ahead, and maybe some unforeseen global conflicts.

It's interesting that when the size of the military is brought up, many of those on the right do -- what else -- blame Bill Clinton. However, a downsizing of the active duty component started long beforehand, with President George H.W. Bush dismantling divisions as they came home from Kuwait, just like he promised to do just before the Gulf War. And, it was the Republican Congresses that pushed forth a downsizing of the military during the 1990s, by favoring expensive missile defense over military pay raises. And so, as started with Bush-41 and continued with the help of the Republican Congress throughout the 90s, the military was downsized.

George W. Bush could have reversed course upon taking office. Yet, he and his administration fought pretty hard to have the 2001 Quadrennial Defense Review shrink the size of the Army from ten divisions to eight. In the end, September 11 made it all but impossible for the president to propose such a thing. Yet he still decided the size of the military was fine from the Clinton years, and used funds to pass tax cuts and fund missile defense, instead of growing the size of the active duty component. Donald Rumsfeld, of course, was completely on key with this, being hailed by the DC-elite for pushing the idea of a smaller, leaner, quicker force. .....(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jon-soltz/stay-the-course-in-iraq-_b_60273.html

[DemBones DemBones]

1. I believe it's a matter of record that Cheney was the one

who advised Poppy Bush to downsize the military and later had the gall to campaign complaining that Clinton had done it.

[AndyTiedye]

2. By Implication: If We Stop the Draft, They Must Get Out of Iraq