Mothers Against the Draft

THE DRAFT CARD: The Option Nobody's Pushing...Yet

More than one-third of nearly 3,900 former soldiers mobilized under a special wartime program have resisted their call-ups. The Army National Guard fell nearly 10 percent short of its 2004 recruiting goal of 56,000 enlistees. The Army, concerned about recruiting, has eased some standards. And there have been bipartisan calls in Congress to expand the Army by more than 20,000 soldiers. Just months ago, Pentagon officials suggested that a new draft could be avoided if recruitment and retention numbers stayed high. But as fighting in Iraq escalates, signs are growing that those numbers may not be adequate in the coming years. Thus, the new talk about a draft.

Draft rumors linger because they're logical

Fear of conscription continues to float just below the surface because so many voters understand somewhere in the backs of their minds that Bush's military plans simply don't add up. A Pentagon advisory board recently issued a report stating the patently obvious: The U.S. military won't have enough troops in the coming years to meet its continuing war and peacekeeping obligations. And respected military analyst Michael O'Hanlon has written, "The Army -- and perhaps the Marine Corps, as well ... needs an immediate increase in active-duty troop levels."

The Conscription Idea

The idea of conscription was discussed—and rejected by the central government—in both the Revolutionary War and the War of 1812. After it was tried toward the end of the War Between the States—with such unfortunate consequences—it was rejected again. But with our entry into World War I, this form of involuntary servitude began to receive the popular support necessary to establish it as a permanent tradition in America.