Also see the analysis of the draft supporters cross section at http://www.counterpunch.org/zeese04042005.html.
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi? file=/c/a/2005/04/04/MNG47C2S0B1.DTL Support grows for beefing up U.S. forces Some see situations where volunteers may not be enough - Edward Epstein, Chronicle Washington Bureau Monday, April 4, 2005 Washington -- The war-strained all-volunteer U.S. military has a growing manpower problem and a cross-section of Washington policymakers has proposed a solution -- increase the size of the regular military by 30,000, 40,000 or even 100, 000 or more. While just about all the proponents maintain they want to achieve the increase by offering recruits bigger financial incentives or through appeals to patriotism, lurking in the background is a possibility that for now remains anathema to all but a few. The military draft, which coughed up its last conscript in 1973, could make a comeback if recruiting doesn't pick up and if America's commitments in Iraq and Afghanistan turn into long-term occupations or if the Bush administration's tough-minded foreign policy means military action in places like Iran or North Korea. It's important to note that the Bush administration adamantly scorns the idea of a resumed draft. It won't even agree to a permanent increase in the Army's size, which Congress temporarily boosted by 30,000 last year, saying instead that Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld's plan to transform the military into a high-tech, mobile force will meet the nation's needs. But the administration does admit it has a problem, particularly in filling the ranks in the 500,000-person regular Army and the 675,000- person Army National Guard and Army Reserve, which have been called upon to carry a large part of the burden of deploying to Iraq and Afghanistan. In a March 23 press conference, Army Secretary Francis Harvey said that in the first two months of 2005, the active Army was meeting 94 percent of its recruiting goal, the Reserve 90 percent and the Guard 75 percent. "Obviously, I'm concerned about the National Guard. I am cautiously optimistic about the Reserve and the active component,'' he said. "We're doing everything that we know how to do in order to meet our goals." More recruiters are being sent out to work with young people and their parents. A new advertising agency has been brought in. The maximum enlistment age in the Guard and Reserve has been boosted from 34 to 39. But, Harvey reiterated, there are no plans to rescind the "don't ask, don't tell'' policy that makes it impossible for gays and lesbians to serve openly in the military. Plans to expand Many in Congress and in wider policy-discussion circles aren't waiting to see the results of the Pentagon's stepped-up efforts. Sens. Chuck Hagel, R-Neb. and Jack Reed, D-R.I., have proposed adding 30,000 soldiers to the Army. Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., has proposed a 30,000-person increase in the Army and 10, 000 to the Marines, and Rep. Ellen Tauscher, D-Walnut Creek, wants to add some 20,000 to the Army, 12,000 to the Marine Corps and 29,000 to the Air Force. A bipartisan group put together by the Project for the New American Century, a group that reflects the thinking of the neoconservatives who have been so influential in determining President Bush's military and foreign policies, sent a letter to congressional leaders in late January. In it, the signatories wrote, "it is our judgment that we should aim for an increase in the active duty Army and Marine Corps, together, of at least 25,000 troops each year over the next several years.'' Signers included not just such neoconservative stalwarts as magazine editor and Fox News contributor Bill Kristol, but also Will Marshall of the Progressive Policy Institute and James Steinberg of the Brookings Institution, a Clinton administration National Security Council official. Kerry, for one, has put a price tag on his proposed increase. The 2004 Democratic presidential nominee, who says he opposes reinstating the draft, says adding 40,000 people to the regular military would cost $4.5 billion to $5 billion a year in added pay, and $2 billion to $3 billion in more benefits needed to attract and keep recruits. Military 'stretched' In proposing a bigger military, Tauscher said the Bush administration is "continuing to stretch the military and turn a blind eye to solutions mandated by Congress'' and "could very well break our military.'' In all, some 310,000 military personnel are serving in 120 countries around the world. In Iraq and Afghanistan, 40 percent of U.S. forces are members of the Guard or Reserve and some have been called up more than once. So far, the idea of a new draft has attracted scant support in Congress. Rep Charles Rangel, D-N.Y., and Rep. Pete Stark, D- Fremont -- both military veterans -- want all 19-year-olds to do a year or two of national service. Military service would be one of their options. 'Political hot air' The idea is widely attacked. "The argument for a draft is political hot air,'' said Daniel Goure, a military analyst at the Lexington Institute, a Washington think tank that supports a smaller role for the federal government. But he warned that if the Iraq occupation drags on, other foreign military operations are launched and a half-million more soldiers are needed, "I don't think we can get there without a draft." "Anything less than that, I can't see it's necessary and it would be counterproductive'' by burdening the military with people who don't want to be there, Goure added. Charles Pena of the libertarian Cato Institute, which opposes the draft, said the only way the public would accept a draft would be if it was part of a broader national service plan in which young people could still volunteer for the military. "It might be politically acceptable if all the pressures lead to an increase in the military,'' Pena said. "But if the administration can transform Iraqi security forces so they assume more of the operations in Iraq and can bring forces home, we'll see the pressures wane.'' Lawrence Korb, assistant defense secretary under President Ronald Reagan, supports the all-volunteer military. But he said the Bush administration is severely straining the military and faces a deadline. "You've got about another year,'' said Korb, who is now an analyst at the Center for American Progress, a liberal think tank. "If you don't cut back in Iraq, your all-volunteer Army and Marine Corps are going to be in big trouble. '' But Phillip Carter, a retired Army captain who is now a lawyer, writer and commentator on military affairs, said there may be little choice but to reinstate conscription. "The all-volunteer model can't produce the numbers that might be needed,'' he said. He favors the national service idea, and says that in his vision those who opt for military service would only serve as military police, truck drivers or in homeland security posts. "It's a matter of pragmatism. We're in a pretty bad spot, and it's tough to meet the recruiting goals,'' said Carter. Pena, who wants to see the military budget slashed by about $100 billion, suggests manpower issues could be addressed by withdrawing the 75,000 troops still stationed in Europe 16 years after the Berlin Wall came down and the 33, 000 in South Korea and Japan. "It's not that we're overextended,'' Pena said. "We're over- committed. We have too many commitments that are no longer germane to United States interests.'' E-mail Edward Epstein at [EMAIL PROTECTED] Page A - 1 URL: http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi? file=/c/a/2005/04/04/MNG47C2S0B1.DTL ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> Take a look at donorschoose.org, an excellent charitable web site for anyone who cares about public education! http://us.click.yahoo.com/_OLuKD/8WnJAA/cUmLAA/TySplB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> -------------------------- Want to discuss this topic? 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