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AGAINST A PEACETIME DRAFT

The bogging down of the occupation of Iraq, and the need for continued large-scale presence of American troops there, has for the first time since the Vietnam era made the re-imposition of a military draft a real possibility and a matter of serious consideration (Lindorff). The following discussion will argue against the re-imposition of a peacetime draft, with "peacetime" taken to mean in the absence of a Congressional declaration of war. No such declaration of war has been made since World War II, though several wars have been fought. Thus, the argument following is not confined to conditions of full peace, but applies to all but the most severe national emergencies.

There are three fundamental arguments against a draft: philosophical, political, and military. The philosophical argument is that a draft, as compulsory service, is essentially contrary to the American value of personal freedom. We should therefore, at least, confine it only to the most extreme conditions, those of declared war. Undeclared military actions have been frequent enough that they can regarded nearly as a routine component of modern American foreign policy, and compulsory servitude should never be routine.

The political argument against a peacetime draft refers here not to its domestic unpopularity, but to the impact of a draft on American policy. Put simply, the ability to use a draftee army in interventions abroad is so powerful an instrument that it should not be granted to the President alone, as a peacetime draft would effectively do. If presidents are aware from the outset that they can carry out interventions only within the limits imposed by the need to recruit a volunteer force, or else seek a Congressional declaration of war, they will be subjected to an important and effective constraint (Kinsley).

Both the philosophical and political arguments are general ones, that would have been as applicable in 1804 or 1904 as in 2004. ...

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AGAINST A PEACETIME DRAFT. (1969, December 31). In LotsofEssays.com. Retrieved 07:35, March 29, 2024, from https://www.lotsofessays.com/viewpaper/1706541.html