For over a year now, America has been engaged in a protracted war in Iraq. But here at Princeton, that battlefront between terrorism and democratic ideals feel as distant and remote as it is geographically.
Sure, when we choose to, we hear about the casualties in Baghdad, the insurgency in Fallujah and the battles in Basra, but we also have the luxury to ignore it, turn away from the chaos that is Iraq and seclude back to the safe comforts of friends, books, and papers. Unfortunately, there is a good chance that Iraq might be closer on our horizons than we now believe it to be.
The abuse of Iraqi prisoners at the Abu Ghraib prison is not the only secret that the United States Department of Defense is trying to hide from the American public. Since late 2003, the Department of Defense has been trying to recruit members for the country's 2,000 local draft boards to fill the roughly 11,000 positions that need to be filled since the draft ended in 1973 after the Vietnam War. Though both the Pentagon and the White House have denied any intention of reinstating the draft, there has been increasing dialogue in Washington on the subject.
It is becoming increasingly evident that a successful campaign to create a stable democratic Iraq would require a dramatic increase in the size of America's military deployment in Iraq. 135,000 troops is simply not enough to occupy and control a nation larger than the state of California. This opinion was first noted by General Shinseki, the previous army chief of staff, at the start of the invasion a year ago when he called for several hundred thousand troops. It is an opinion that is slowly gaining supporters on from both parties in Washington.
Less than a month ago, Republican Senator Chuck Hegel called for reinstating the draft before the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee arguing that a draft would not only bring in larger troops into Iraq but would also more fairly distribute the responsibilities of the war to a wider population of Americans.
Similarly, Democratic Senator Joseph Biden, another member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, stated recently that the army was not large enough to occupy Iraq and to carry out the other military deployments around the world. He however stopped short of calling for a draft at the moment.
The reality is that recent reports of casualties, mishaps and strategic errors in Iraq have forced many politicians to rethink what must be needed in order for America to succeed in Iraq. As the June 30 deadline approaches, America will have to choose between withdrawing completely from an Iraq that is unprepared to govern itself or recommitting itself to see the nation building process to the end.
What is certain is that continuing on with this current strategy and troop commitment would only further worsen the situation in Iraq.
This decision will be made and it will probably be made within the next year. It is unlikely that the result of the election in November will do much to change the dynamics of this decision since John Kerry seems to believe just as much as President Bush that America must not abandon its commitment to Iraq.
Reinstating the draft is not an easy task. It needs the approval of the Congress and the president. However, as our failures in Iraq become more evident and as troop commitments from our coalition partners start declining (such as the recent withdrawal of 1,300 Spanish troops), there will be an increasing need for more American troops. It might not be long before this war arrives on our own backyard. What we see on television might become reality.
Legislation has been passed since the 1973 draft to prevent those selected to cross over to Canada. Furthermore, a selected college student can now only defer his induction until the end of the semester.
Though as the semester ends, we have more immediate concerns on our minds, the time to talk about the draft is now. Voices and objections need to be heard before it is too late to effect change.
We need to ensure that the Vietnam nightmare does not revisit our generation. Kyle Meng '05 is the president of the Global Issues Forum. He can be reached at kmeng@princeton.edu.
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