The Selective Service website unctuously declares there is no draft foreseen at the moment and lists defeat of recent congressional efforts to institute the draft. However, it emphasizes that the agency is required by law to remain at the ready to immediately institute a draft upon notice.
As part of this responsibility It polls educational instutitions every 18 months requesting updated information on draft-age youngsters who are receiving federal funding, the most recent of these polls here: http://cryptome.org/sss110404.txt A single harsh attack on US interests could precipitate a draft, and override public opposition in a flash. The military has nearly exhausted it National Guard and Reserve options, and will not give up the long-standing strategic policy of being able to fight two major wars at once. Thus most military resources are tied up not in the Middle East but in pre-positioned locations determined by the 2-wars policy. Whether the US military should forego its 2-war policy and use its forces in ways more appropriate to current threats will be determined by those interest groups who benefit from the horrifically expensive and magnificently wasteful 2-war boondoggle. Two generations of military personnel have been trained for the 2-war threat, and almost none have faced actual combat. This inexperience shows in unconventional warfare. again and again. Big war planners throw big war resources are small targets, take the applause for the phony war show, as in Fallujah, and discount lives lost because the do not show up on big war statistical-casualties diagrams. Big wars expect big losses, far more than volunteers can provide. Indeed, volunteer military personnel -- officers and enlisted -- are careful to throw conscripts into the breech as if they are expendable ammunition, the more thrown the higher the credit obtained in charts of capacity, not charts of smarts. Recall Kennedy embraced the counter-insurgent tool with support for Special Forces, but these forces remain a marginal part of the military, not least because they do not require much material and political resouces to do their duty. Big defense, and never forget, big intelligence to feed the need for big defense, are far superior ar generating contracts, jobs, careers and campaign contributions. The US is totally addicted to profligate, wasteful ineffective big war policy, primarily because there is little risk in parading might, bragging about it, threatening with it, compared to using it. Every application of US military might since WW2 has failed. STF up and pay your taxes, asshole, encourage your sons and daughters to sacrifice for the nation -- well, not really just tell the poor fuckers the military is a good safe job. Don't get drafted, that's for losers. Any road, killing the big war planners at home where they feel safe, is sure to come for their mighty military does not how to fight that war so busy is it parading forces against imaginary wargame-type evil empires of the day.
