Op-Ed: Party Here, Sacrifice Over There

I just read the NY Times OP-Ed Op-Ed Contributor: Party Here, Sacrifice Over There By Will Bardenwerper (he was an Army infantry officer from 2003 to 2007, and was stationed for 13 months in Nineveh and Anbar Provinces in Iraq). I thank him and all the men and women in our military for their valor and service.

The last three paragraphs make his main point:

"A draft would have one of two consequences. The first is that it might actually relieve the strain on today’s soldiers and end the “backdoor draft” of volunteers who have already served while their civilian peers remain comfortably undisturbed. I am aware that Army leaders fear that a draft would hurt the professionalism of today’s force. However, the lowering of recruiting requirements, as well as the offering of big signing bonuses to impressionable high school students, is already diminishing standards.

The other possible consequence is that serious consideration of a draft could set off such a violent reaction from the American public that the pressure on politicians to abandon their cliché-ridden rhetoric and begin a well-considered withdrawal would be overpowering.

Either situation would accelerate movement toward a decisive point — a commitment to victory, or the realization that Americans simply do not believe the threats cited are really worthy of the sacrifices required to vanquish them. Many years and many lives later, the very least we can do for my friends fighting a world away is to try to decide."

Basically, he wants to bring back the draft. But this is putting the cart in front of the horse. You have a draft when you are fighting a declared war and need more manpower than is available in a volunteer force. But we never declared war on Iraq.

There were good reasons why our founding fathers gave this authority to the Congress. Presidents like George W. Bush have abused their executive authority by involving us in undeclared wars: Korea, Vietnam, and Iraq. Presidents are not kings. They should abide by our Constitution.