There were no plans to invade Iraq either, remember?

No Plans for Military Draft, Official Says
By Josh White
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, July 8, 2004; Page A10

There are no plans to reinstate a military draft and the Bush administration does not support conscription, the Pentagon's top official for personnel and readiness told Congress yesterday.

Trying to counter recent Internet rumors that the military and the Selective Service System are girding for a potential draft to support operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, Undersecretary of Defense David S.C. Chu said there is no reason to bring back the draft. He fielded questions at a House Armed Services Committee hearing that focused on the strains on military personnel as officials plan to rotate more troops into the conflicts in coming months.

"The administration does not support resumption of the draft," Chu said, responding to a question from Rep. Curt Weldon (R-Pa.). "There is no secret plan on this front."

Posted by Prometheus 6 on July 9, 2004 - 10:16am
 
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Hey Prom,

I looked at this issue from a numbers/operation standpoint before the Iraq invasion and we needed a larger military then, much less now. Subsequently, the manpower problem has become critical.

http://hnn.us/articles/1228.html

As to whether we should have a draft per se, it would obviously be preferable to expand the volunteer forces first or explore creative restructuring, force allocation away from quiet zones like W. Europe than to resort to conscription. I'm not as " pro-draft " as the title implies ( chosen by the editors)

Posted by  mark safranski (not verified) on July 9, 2004 - 11:41am.