Wednesday, 04.09.08
Mind the Gap
MAURICIO LIMA/AFP/Getty Images
The draft: why the country needs it
April 1980
James Fallows argues in favor of a national draft.
The draft: why the army needs it
April 1980
Read Senator-elect James Webb's companion piece.
Improbable but true
November 21, 2006
James Fallows explains how he and James Webb came together to write their articles.
Time was when members of Congress didn’t have to rely on just the media, fact-finding tours, or high-profile hearings to find out what was going on in a theater of war. Instead, our representatives could turn to trusted ex-comrades or relatives for an on-the-ground view. But that was in another, better United States. Fewer and fewer senators or representatives have any military experience and the connections that come with it.
In 1991, 68 percent of senators and 48 percent of House members had served; by 2007, those percentages had dropped to 29 percent and 23 percent, respectively. And by my own crude reckoning, fewer than 10 in 535 national legislators have offspring in the military.
At the most primal level, the lack of “skin in the game,” as the ex-SEAL and former Senator Bob Kerrey delicately put it, doubtless makes some representatives more cavalier about putting Americans in harm’s way. But just as important, after the shooting starts, the disconnect between them and the military creates a corrosive information gap. Yes, there’s a lot more realtime data out there about what’s going on in Basra, from satellite photos to blog posts (more than 9,000 yesterday), than there ever was, say, about Hue during the Tet Offensive. A lot of it, though, is just white noise, lacking context, insight, or human connection. It doesn’t register with the force and truth of observations and opinions from friends or relatives we care about and trust. As Duncan Duane Hunter, the Marine son of Representative Duncan Hunter, said, “When Dad orders a bunch of body armor or scopes for the Marines, I can actually tell him if we got it and it works.” That kind of information isn’t the only kind that matters—I can’t think of many things I’d agree with Rep. Hunter on, for example, beginning with Iraq. But it’s one that our Congress, and our society at large, shouldn’t be losing. For starters, it’s invaluable to effective civilian control over the military.That’s one of the reasons why I think bringing back the draft is a good idea. A fair draft, not the kind that people like Dick “I-had-other-priorities” Cheney and Bill Clinton could dodge. And draft advocates should be honest: a mix of conscripts and volunteers might make for a marginally less effective military. But our country as a whole will be better informed, more engaged, and stronger.
John Stuart Mill Says What?In assessing the draft through the lens of mutual advantage, Will Wilkinson touches on John Stuart Mill, Richard Posner, and Robert Nozick, and finds no compelling argument for conscription. |
Whose Personal Responsibility?Professor of Philosophy Cheyney C. Ryan explores disconnect between war and citizens' responsibility, finding that "the social basis for this disconnection lies in the absence of anything like universal conscription." |
Soldiers Speak OutServicemembers from Fort Hood, TX speak out against the war, arguing that "The honest truth is that if the American people knew what was going on over there everyday, they would be raising their voices too. They would be saying, 'Hey, bring those guys home.'" |
Uncle Sam Wants You!From the RAND analyst who literally wrote the book on the all-volunteer US military, Bernard D. Rostker traces the institution's history from the early 1960s through the current Iraq War. |
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With conscription, the regular army ends up wasting a lot of its regular soldiers' time babysitting conscripts, deployment is painfully slow (look at the UK in the Suez Crisis), and the army is oversized and overly expensive in peacetime. It doesn't make sense in modern warfare, where armies no longer require poorly-trained cannon fodder for massed attacks.
In any case, countries like France, Israel, and Russia, who have kept national service, still get involved in military conflicts fairly regularly.
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What a pointless post.
"At the most primal level, the lack of �skin in the game,� as the ex-SEAL and former Senator Bob Kerrey delicately put it, doubtless makes some representatives more cavalier about putting Americans in harm�s way."
Examples? I don't know if I would characterize any politicians as "cavalier" about putting Americans in harm's way, but most of the Representatives and Senators with "skin in the game" (e.g., John McCain, Duncan Hunter) are hawks. Meanwhile, others with no skin in the game (e.g., Dennis Kucinich, Russ Feingold) are doves.
Posted by Fred | April 9, 2008 1:39 PM