Clarification/Follow-up by CeeBee2 on 01/29/06 12:26 pm:
Hank -- you didn't ask for reasons (open-ended question - why, how), just asked for a yes or no (closed question). Where's that journalistic spirit when you need it, man????

Clarification/Follow-up by HANK1 on 01/29/06 1:40 pm:
CeeBee: I just took it forgranted that you would at least write a paragraph re: your reasons for saying no. I never answer a question with one word! That's what drgade does and that's why he has so many answered questions in his portfolio and why he's #1 on Answerway! So be it!

Clarification/Follow-up by tomder55 on 01/30/06 9:27 am:
Hank thanks but in truth there is room for disagreement on this issue. There are many who feel we rely too much on technology as a force multiplier and that where we are strained is in situations where we will require 'boots on the ground' . I am one who thinks that much of the occupation role that the military plays should be allocated to State Dept and civilian agencies . There is also those who say that in a war of attrition against China we would be in trouble . I based my answer on the word of the military leadership ;who have been universal in the opinion that a draft for the military would be counter -productive .

Clarification/Follow-up by ETWolverine on 01/31/06 8:43 am:
Hank,

Re; your rating of my answer.

Actually, the draft is part of the reason why we lost Vietnam. Although we won every virtually battle, we had soldiers who didn't believe in the cause, didn't want to be there, and therefore came home and protested. We also had those who were psychologically unsuited for battle being given guns and told "go fight", with the end result being that they ended up with PTSD at a higher rate than ever before, and who were being used as an example of how terrible military service is, and how bad the soldiers are.

The draft worked in WWII because most Americans believed in the war. In Korea, the results were mixed. But in Vietnam it was a disaster from both a military and a PR perspective.

Elliot

Clarification/Follow-up by tomder55 on 01/31/06 8:49 am:
Hank :

The draft worked in all wars including the Korean War.

not really .There has been a tradition of ongoing opposition to conscription by pacifists, libertarians, and opponents of particular wars. There was compelling need possibly for the draft but there was always resisitance to it (even during WWII ..see below).

During the war of 1812 some states drafted men but James Madison's administration was unable to enact national conscription .

The imposition of a draft touched off the New York Draft Riots in 1863. The Confederate States also instituted conscription in 1862. But resistance was both widespread and violent.

But through most of the 19th century the country survived with volunteer forces supplemented by local militias when a conflict erupted (mostly against the native populations ).

Not until World War I did the United States rely primarily upon conscription.There were a few violent incidents and a number of antidraft demonstrations after the 1917 Selective Service Act but nowheres near as bad as during the Civil War. Between 2 and 3 million men never registered, and 338,000 (12 percent of those drafted) failed to report when called or deserted after arrival at training camp. In addition, 64,700 registrants sought CO status.

During WWII Congress decided to get ahead of the game and instituted the draft before we got into the fray .There was such opposition that Congress reduced the time to a one year conscription and service was restricted to the Western Hemisphere and U.S. territories.

Everything changed after Pearl Harbor. Still there were incidences of opposition and defiance .72,000 applied for CO status.25,000 of them entered the army in noncombatant service, another 12,000 went to civilian work camps, and 20,000 had their claims rejected. 6,000 (mostly Jehovah's Witnesses) were imprisoned. Antidraft incidents in Chicago and other cities stemmed from protest by Blacks against discrimination and segregation in the armed forces. The Justice Department investigated 373,000 incidences of draft evasion and obtained convictions of 16,000.

During the Korean War COs grew to nearly 1.5 percent of eligible draftees compared to 0.15 percent in the world wars.

You know of course that resistance to the draft during the Vietnam War and the opposition in the ranks of the military by draftees affected the outcome of that conflict.There were well over 100,000 draft offenders, the government indicted 22,500 , 8,800 were convicted and 4,000 imprisoned.Between 1965 and 1970..170,000 claimed COs. 30,000 to 50,000 fled ;mainly to Canada.

Hank ;I think a national service requirement is reasonable but unless the military tells Congress it can't meet it's personnel needs ,and all incentives have been tried then I do not think a military draft is a good idea.

Clarification/Follow-up by HANK1 on 01/31/06 10:48 am:
Elliot & Tom: Thanks for your clarifications. I understand where you're coming from.