Monday, September 10, 2007

If the Petraeus Report doesn't snap your stick...

Check out this report (and wonder, when it's over, why the pseudo-patriotic jingoists in this country won't face up to the difficult truths):


4 comments:

Anonymous said...

This report is a very powerful Rascal. Why not admit that we made a mistake by invading Iraq, call in the surrounding countries including Iran, Syria and Saudi Arabia and ask them to help draw up an accord to stabilize the region? Then start pulling our troops out of Iraq and redeploying them in Afghanistan and Pakistan to root out Al Qaida and put an end to Osana Bin Laden. That should appease those who feel we're letting the terrorists win by leaving Iraq. Also, let's reinstitute the draft but also give young Americans the option of other service to our country aside from the military. One option could be a youth construction corp that would help rebuild our infrastructure. This would eliminate the need for troops serving two or more tours in Iraq.
Who could be against these ideas?

The Rascal said...

Mr. B: You raise some interesting points, but I disagree with you on the idea of conscription. It goes against the few libertarian impulses I harbor.

Anonymous said...

Until recently I felt the same way about conscription. But as a compromise, I think this would make sense and could possibly be supported by the public. No one would have to serve in the military, but everyone would have to do two years of public service. There could be four or five options such as the Peace Corps, health care, Vista and the youth construction corps I suggested. We simply have to find a way to avoid sending the same troops to Iraq over and over again. In a perfect world, there would be no need for a draft or a military. I'm afraid we haven't reached that point yet.

The Rascal said...

And what would be the penalty for resisting the call to duty? Prison? A big fine? See, the coercion of it all is what bothers me. It's fundamentally unAmerican. As for our military being stretched thin, there would be no such problem if the war in Iraq were justifiable. It's not, and a draft (even with civilian-duty alternatives) is only going to embolden the architects of our mistaken foreign policy.