77% Oppose Draft, Poll Says

[cal04]

Poll Shows Voters Reject Return of the Draft

Voters overwhelmingly reject resuming the military draft and more than a third fear a draft is likely if President Bush is reelected while a somewhat smaller share predict that Democratic presidential nominee John F. Kerry will follow a similar course if he wins, according to a new Washington Post tracking poll.

Three in four likely voters currently oppose resuming the draft while one in five favor reviving it. Opposition to conscription is both deep and broad: Six in 10 likely voters strongly rejected the draft while only 8 percent strongly favored it. Compare President Bush and Sen. John F. Kerry and review the issues of the last year all on one page.

Both Bush and Kerry have declared they will not reinstate the draft, which was suspended three decades ago. Similarly, The Post poll found that opposition to the draft spans the partisan and ideological divide. More than seven in 10 Republicans, Democrats and political independents reject reviving the draft, as do equally lop-sided majorities of political conservatives, liberals and moderates, the survey found.

With Iraq and Afghanistan stretching the U.S. military thin, a small but significant minority of voters expect that a draft will be needed regardless of who is elected president. Thirty-six percent of likely voters said a draft was "very" or "fairly" likely if Bush is reelected, while 28 percent said it's likely if Kerry is elected.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A49016-2004Oct20.html

[jdj]

1. you can't tell me this many dems think Kerry will have a draft

more crap from the post.

[lastliberalintexas]

2. So is that other 23% going to enlist?

At the very least, that 8% who strongly favor the draft should have already enlisted by now, right? God I hate these arm chair quaterbacks.

[LiberteToujours]

3. Who supports it?

I would like to see what percentage of the draft-eligible population supports the draft.

[Discover1]

4. My first time post so go gently with me please.

Maybe the draft or at least a proposed draft wouldn't be so bad for us. We had our greatest outbreak of joining together when the draft was on during the 60's and I think that some Americans have forgotten the fear they felt of going to war.

[jdj]

5. Let's hope Kerry wins.

And there won't be one.

[wabeewoman]

6. I agree the prospect of a draft is a good thing

because it brings home the cost of pre-emptive war(or any other kind but especially a war of choice). Parents now days are much more involved than my generations parents were. I think its the quickest way to kill bush's plan to take over the world. Mothers and fathers of the USA will unite and say, not my child. I am certain I shall and they will take my child over my cold dead body.

[katinmn]

17. There's already a plan on the shelf for drafting drs and nurses

why not you??

http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/news/news-arms-usa-draft.html Although the pentagon denies it, the Selective Service's "Richard Flahavan, a spokesman for the Selective Service System, said that agency for the past year has been performing a ``routine'' update of long-standing contingency plans for an emergency draft of medical personnel.

Flahavan emphasized there are no plans for any military draft, which could go into effect only with the backing of the president and Congress.

Selective Service is separate from the Defense Department, and Winkenwerder said the updating of the contingency plans was not done at the direction of anyone at the Pentagon."

[LiberteToujours]

8. It would unify us even more

But more people would also die. I don't believe that the ends justify the means in this case. One could say that going to Iraq was a good thing, because all those so adamently opposed became united and remembered their voice. That was a good side effect, but nothing is worth the loss of life and the damage that has been done to the world. There's a difference between making something good out of a bad situation, and a bad situation being a good thing.

[tinanator]

10. maybe we should drop the big one?

maybe we have already witnessed the largest worldwide coming together in history, and the lowlifes in charge couldnt care less. Maybe what we need to do is take control and quit taking their garbage as if they had a legitimate claim to power and empire?
Maybe.

[David__77]

7. This number would collapse to 50% if there were "an attack."

We should be vigilent. Remember how certain fascists have said "9/11 changed everything" as an excuse to destroy the constitution? Well, another "attack" would whip up the far right into a war frenzy. Then, the current level of polarization would look like nothing. We need to be prepared for all possibilities. We must never allow the surrender of principles in the name of "national unity."

[whosinpower]

9. Draft is UNPOPULAR

didn't Bush tout that he would do whatever was necessary even if it is UNPOPULAR. He went to great lengths on it during the debates - the Iraq invasion plan was UNPOPULAR, but he had to do it anyways.....

So - we all know that the draft will be UNPOPULAR.....

And we all know that for the administration to continue its global domination plan as per PNAC - there MUST be more troops....

[Charlie Brown]

11. If Bush ends up drafting

It will be the end of the Republicans

[Voltaire99]

14. Hardly. It wasn't the end of the Democrats when they did it in the 60s.

The American public has endured drafts time and again. It doesn't like them. But it consents.

[Charlie Brown]

19. Johnson never "promised" not to restart the draft

If Bush buckles on this, it will make him a liar and a hypocrite. Those whiny freepers will turn to a third party before they support a pro-draft President (they don't like giving back to their country). If a new draft is enstated, it will be the end of the Republicans (as far as the Presidency and Congress are concerned).

[intermixxx]

12. Draft either way

I think we're headed for a draft by either party for different reasons. Repubs to get more killed, Dems to make the military less dependent on the poor. I believe we're heading for an Israel like military.

[Voltaire99]

15. I suspect there will be a draft under Kerry

Kerry's neo-liberal foreign policy has the same worldview as that of the neo-cons; he just prefers to share the material and economic costs of empire with like-minded nations. But it's essentially the same imperial plan: America uber alles.

Given his intention to stay in Iraq for another four years and the unlikelihood that any other ally will be stupid enough to join the "coalition" there, President Kerry won't be able to advance on any other foreign policy front--let alone respond to a national crisis--without more stiffs in uniform.

Hillary made noises about a draft 12 months ago. The DLC-wing is onboard; they'll just bide their time until a draft is "regrettably" inevitable.

If you're in school and can swing it, now is the time for you to think about studying abroad. That sort of entitlement will protect you, at least in the short term.

[Samantha]

13. The Kerry camp has dropped the ball on this issue

Republicans are now saying Kerry is using this simply as a scare tactic. Rumors of a draft preceded Kerry's nomination. The first official source I saw was in the Seattle Times. An AP reporter through a FOIA heard the plan rumored and obtained a copy through his FOIA request. Why has Kerry's PR people not produced this as proof of the fact the Dems did not initiate this as a rumor to use as a scare tactic? The simple facts can refute the Bush* claim, but the facts are not presented to the public.

[Carolab]

16. Hackworth says Kerry is right

Hackworth: Uncle Sam Will Soon Want Your Kids

About the Author


Columnist and former soldier David H. Hackworth is the author of The Price of Honor, and contributes weekly commentary to DefenseWatch. For more information, visit Colonel Hackworth's homepage or the DefenseWatch Website. Sign up for the free weekly Defending America column at his Website, or send mail to P.O. Box 11179, Greenwich, CT 06831.

October 4, 2004

Recently, when John Kerry brought up the possibility of a return to the draft, SecDef Donald Rumsfeld was quick to respond that Kerry was full of it.

But my take is that Kerry is right on the mark. Not only because Rummy has been flat wrong on every major military call regarding Iraq, but because this is a war that won't be won by smart weapons or the sledgehammer firepower we see every night on the tube.

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.

Clearly, this war against worldwide, hardcore Islamic believers will be a massive military marathon, the longest and most far-flung in our country's history. By Christmas, more troops could be needed not only in Iraq and Afghanistan, but wherever the radical Islamic movement is growing stronger, from the Horn of Africa to Morocco, Kenya, Somalia, Yemen and across Europe - remember Spain?! - to Asia.

http://www.military.com/Opinions/0,,Hackworth_100404,00.html

[LynnTheDem]

18. If Americans want more bush, they will get more wars...and we DON'T HAVE

enough troops to sustain Iraq & Afghanistan, let alone the more wars bush wants.

Simple;

VOTE FOR BUSH & GET DRAFTED.