As our troops continue to be stretched thing in Iraq and Afghanistan, could we possibly see the draft return? In an interview on NPR’s “All Things Considered,” Army Lt. General Douglas Lute, often referred to as the “Iraq war czar,” said:
“I think it makes sense to certainly consider it, and I can tell you, this has always been an option on the table. But ultimately, this is a policy matter between meeting the demands for the nation’s security by one means or another,”
It’s worth noting Lt. General Lute did point out he felt the all-volunteer force was serving the nation well, but he also acknowledged that repeated deployments were taking their toll on not only members of the military, but their loved ones as well. I know some Democrats – folks like Charlie Rangel – have called for reinstating the draft as a way to end the Iraq war, and while his idea might have had some merit as a possible way to bring about an end to the war when things were going a little bit better in Iraq, I think we’ve reached a point where lawmakers from both parties are finally starting to realize how toxic any support for the war will be for them. We’ve already seen some notable Republicans split from President Bush when it comes to supporting the war in Iraq, and once General David Petraeus gives his report on the effectiveness (or ineffectiveness) of the “surge plan” to the House in September, I anticipate there’ll be a heck of a lot more Republicans that start calling for a withdrawal of our troops as soon as possible.
According to a report in The Hill, Gen. Petraeus hinted that the presence of U.S. troops in Iraq might be required for up to ten years, and if he says that in front of Congress when he testifies, I expect to see Republicans run as fast as they can away from George W. Bush and the Iraq war.
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