Conscription isn’t the answer
By Nathaniel Ward, Washington, DC
Published on Friday, February 9, 2007
To the Editor:
In his Feb. 8 column on the war on terror ("Undemocratic War for Democracy"), Max Bryer '08 argues that the Bush administration should have "call[ed] on average Americans to bear the costs" of the war. He complains that the American people "are never called upon to be the instruments of the president's policy," for instance through a draft, and he insists that "a more drastic mobilization of the American people is necessary."
This is a misguided analysis. To prevail in the war on terror, the United States needs the most effective and best-equipped soldiers in the world -- and today's American military, composed entirely of volunteers, is the world's most effective fighting force. The nation's military leadership rejects conscription outright: Gen. Peter Pace, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said last year that "we do not as a nation need the draft." If America is to sustain the spending necessary to prevail in this long war, we must maintain a strong economy. It would be irresponsible and contrary to our national security interests to impose economic burdens on the population to achieve a feel-good policy of "shared sacrifice" or "mobilization."