Reinstating_the_Draft

Tammie Hughey English Composition I Argumentative/Persuasive Essay, Final Tuesday, November 23, 2010 Reinstating the Military Draft: On Ending the War Against Terrorism Conscription is the “compulsory enrollment” or forced membership of individuals per mandate of some established authority for involuntary work, especially in serving the armed forces. In the United States, this is colloquially known as “the draft”. For many years, America’s young men were drafted to provide backup to the Armed Forces. To date, the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, that sparked a global movement to halt terrorism, had gone to a great extent. Terrorism activities had become prevalent for the past ten years that even the US’s unquestioned armed forces was not able to put an end to it. Terrorism is a threat not just for the present population but also for the future of mankind and the only way to stop this is to provide sufficient military power to counter terrorist attacks and to end terrorism in time. In recent years, global events, combined with the policies of the current presidential administration, has prompted a huge resurgence in United States military intervention around the world. Military draft should be reinstated to provide sufficient manpower in the fight against terrorism. When the current military count is not enough to overrun the forces of terror, why not increase manpower by forcing individuals to join the move towards ending the war against terrorism' Mandatory service has some important applications especially in the armed forces. In the United States, the Selective Service System registers aged individuals as a requirement. This system has three basic responsibilities: (1) to provide enough number of men needed by the Armed Forces, (2) do the conscription process with little disturbance as possible, and lastly, (3) guide postponements into some areas that are useful in other means such as scientific and educational groups. From the time of American Revolution, General George Washington commanded conscripted troops. This was the first American patriot’s “unlimited obligation” to perform military service (Burk). From then on, Americans were automatically accepting the task whenever and wherever they are asked to fight, to be drafted, or to be conscripted. To them, it was there moral obligation, duty and love for country—until 1968. During the Civil War, the North and the South resorted to Extreme Draft after unsuccessful fight of their volunteer armies. About the same period, Abraham Lincoln, with his Emancipation Proclamation, freed all slaves and passed to the Congress the National Enrollment Act, which was aimed at enrolling selected single men, aged 20-45 and married men up to 35 (Gill, 2005). The draft, however, did not make good impression towards the existing population. Controversies in the draft include the cost of “buying the way out”, which was only $300, in favor of the wealthy. The New York City draft office was burned by a mob in 1963 which initiated a five-day riot among the city’s black population and the wealthy. The draft was resumed after assigning 10,000 soldiers in the city. Opposition to the draft occurred in many other cities throughout North America (Gill, 2005). During the World War I, the Selective Service System, which “prohibited enlistment bounties and personal substitution” (Gill, 2005) was established. Conscriptions were done using this system which was a big help in the Armed Forces’ fight across the land. Table 1 summarizes the different conflicts as well as the draftees and armed forces total. Table 1. Conflict | Draftees | Armed Forces Total | Civil War - Union (1783-1865) | 164,000 (8%) inc. substitutes | 2.1 million | WWI (1917 - 1918) | 2.8 million (72%) | 3.5 million | WWII (1940 - 1946) | 10.1 million (63%) | 16 million | Korea (1950 - 1953) | 1.5 million (54%) | 1.8 in theatre, 2.8 million total | Vietnam (1964 - 1973) | 1.9 million (56% / 22%) | 3.4 million in theatre, 8.7 million total | The draft helped in maintaining the armed forces through different conflicts. As seen from the table, the immediate effect of conscription is the increase in the size of the armed forces. From the Civil War period down to the Vietnam War, there is a significant rise in the number of draftees that were able to fill in the vacancies that could not be filled by voluntary means. After the Vietnam War, the draft was abolished. Currently, the armed forces are composed of All-Volunteer Army (AVA). However, registration in the Selective Service is still a requirement for males age 18-25. On January 10, 2007, Rep. Charles Rangel passed a bill called the Universal National Service Act of 2007 which states that, “…all persons in the United States between ages of 18 and 42 to perform national service…” (The Library of Congress, 2007). There are many arguments for the draft. Citing George Washington’s rationale for national service: "... it must be laid down as a primary position and the basis of our (democratic) system, that every citizen who enjoys the protection of a free Government owes not only a proportion of his property, but even his personal service to the defense of it” (Gill, 2005). Israel’s armed forces are often cited as highly-trained and effective militia despite the fact that it is “peopled by mandatory national service.” However, Israel’s conscription system is unique because, instead of drafting people, citizens are required to serve for a period of two to three years. The only time that America came up to a point like this was during the time of Washington when he ordered that “every white male are required to be part of the militia.” The issue on the draft has long been proposed and debated intermittently in the Congress after the Vietnam War yet it was never been successful. In fact, there has been a reduction on the funds for voluntary service. According to the Universal National Service Act, the 15-month military service is compulsory for men and women aged 18-26. Rep. Rangel who was a veteran of the Korean War introduced this bill saying: “I truly believe that those who make the decision and those who support the United States going into war would feel more readily the pain that's involved, the sacrifice that's involved, if they thought that the fighting force would include the affluent and those who historically have avoided this great responsibility...Those who love this country have a patriotic obligation to defend this country. For those who say the poor fight better, I say give the rich a chance”. In this regard, it is safe to assume that it is easy to look for supporters of the draft. Beginning from Washington, the spirit of patriotism was inculcated in the American minds. Despite resistance to the draft, more people are likely to perform that “unlimited obligation” once done by sincere and responsible patriots in the past. After the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks in the United States, President George W. Bush ordered a war against the terrorists who were responsible for the attacks. The war on terrorism began on October 7 with Bush saying about the war on terrorism, "Our war on terror begins with al Qaeda, but it does not end there. It will not end until every terrorist group of global reach has been found, stopped and defeated” (Bush, 2001). This war is taking too much time as compared to previous wars. It involved many countries, many groups that support terrorism activities. There is no sure date when it will end. The most probable reason why this problem is taking too long to resolve is the insufficiency of manpower in the US military. This delay could be resolved when there is an increase in the armed forces. In this way, the terrorists can be outnumbered and when it happens, Bush’s ‘war on terror’ shall be ended. To do this, the government must call for involuntary work at once, that is, mandatory service, military draft, or conscription, must be reinstated in Congress. For many years, the United States Armed Forces together with the civilian power had conquered many conflicts. It will be enough evidence that “nothing is impossible” with military draft. It is a straightforward way to halt terrorism. Military draft is bounded by issues and resistances among different groups in the American society. Many people have tried to cheat their way out of the registration done by the US Selective Service System. However, during times of war crisis, sufficient militia is the key towards victorious exit. Conscription has been the resort of countries that found volunteer army was no longer sufficient. In the United States, the military draft was able to provide sufficient force to conquer many conflicts it involved—overseas or not. The ‘War on Terrorism’ is yet to end. Despite the unquestioned armed forces of the United States, it is still unable to put an end to the war. Perhaps the only way to end it is to supply a massive force drawn from the people. The military draft should be reinstated in this case. References Burk, J. (January 28, 2007). The Military Obligation of Citizens since Vietnam. Bush, President G. W. (2001). Address to a Joint Session of Congress and the American People. Gill, Kathy (2005). Military Conscription, Recruiting and the Draft. CNN. (January 8, 2003). Rangel introduces bill to reinstate draft. The Library of Congress. (2007). Universal National Service Act.