The Coming Military Draft...Again...

Details here:

"Col. David H. Hackworth, one of the country's most decorated soldiers, thinks Kerry and the people passing around worried emails [about a coming draft] have it right. For one thing, he notes that Rumsfeld 'has been flat wrong on every major military call regarding Iraq.'

"He goes on to say, 'Right now ­ with both our regular and Reserve soldiers stretched beyond the breaking point ­ our all-volunteer force is tapping out. If our overseas troop commitments continue at the present rate or climb higher, there won't be enough Army and Marine grunts to do the job. And thin, overworked units, from Special Forces teams to infantry battalions, lose fights.'

"Hackworth's conclusion: 'Although Pentagon puff artists insist they're making quota, recruiters are already saying it would be easier to find $100 bills on the sidewalk outside a homeless shelter than fill their enlistment quotas, even with the huge bonuses now being paid. So the draft --­ which will include both boys and girls this time around ­-- is a no-brainer in '05 and '06.'

"Bush has stated repeatedly, most recently in the Miami debate, that he listens to his generals. If they call for more men, he will deliver. (Of course, it's a lie. When Army Chief of Staff Gen. Eric Shinseki warned that the military needed 300,000 troops to go invade Iraq, Bush cashiered him, showing what happens when you say what you're thinking in this administration.) And that's the way it will come down. At some point, Bush will have the generals over at the Pentagon announce that they need more fresh troops, and he will 'reluctantly' order a return to the Draft.

"Count on it.

"As for Kerry, unless he's smart enough to back down from his tough talk about 'winning the war' in Iraq, and pulls the U.S. out of that blood-drenched quagmire, he may find himself in the same bind, should he manage to win the election. And what a grand irony that would be-the old Vietnam War protester calling up a new generation of cannon-fodder for another doomed military adventure."