I can’t vouch for the veracity of this, but I will say that a society that consists of citizens who won’t bother to freely defend it is not worth defending. And a war that citizens will not freely fight is not a war worth waging. I have also heard that some states have begun adding an agreement to submit to the draft in order to get your drivers license, but I have not had the chance to verify that yet either.
I don’t think a draft is necessary in order to continue the occupations, as we could simply pull enough troops out of Europe rotation to cover Iraq and Afghanistan. I suspect that it would indicate that some additional fireworks may be in store in the relatively near future.
$28 million has been added to the 2004 Selective Service System (SSS) budget to prepare for a military draft that could start as early asJune 15, 2005. SSS must report to Bush on March 31, 2005 that the system, which has lain dormant for decades, is ready for activation. Please see the SSS website to view the SSS Annual Performance Plan – Fiscal Year 2004. The Pentagon has quietly begun a public campaign to fill all 10,350 draft board positions and 11,070 appeals board slots nationwide. Though this is an unpopular election year topic, military experts and influential members of Congress are suggesting that if Rumsfeld’s prediction of a “long, hard slog” in Iraq and Afghanistan [and a permanent state of war on terrorism] proves accurate, the U.S. may have no choice but to draft.
UPDATE – the driver’s license thing is genuine, as it is a stated strategy of the SSS. However, I’m not sure if all that much has actually changed, as perusing the document shows that a high percentage of registrants have been collected for the past few years. Of course, that doesn’t mean that a draft isn’t imminent, though it could signify nothing more than that the Federal government is continuing to keep closer and closer tabs on everyone. Big Brother, coming to a high school near you!