The leftos and collectivists love the draft, but history is against them. In the 229 years of the history of our republic, we only had the draft from 1863-1865, 1917-1919, and 1940-1973. That is a total of only about 47 years or only 20% of the time in the history of the country have we had conscription! As I stated the leftos love the draft because allegedly "everyone" serves and it is egalitarian. That of course is a bunch of malarkey since our experiences show otherwise. The draft law was riddled with exceptions for students, hardship, medicial, occupation and many others. The government does not have carte blanche right to the lives of its people unless a national emergency dictates otherwise. Don't buy into any slogans that state otherwise.

Where do idiotic ideas like this originate? And how does our idiotic liberal-leaning press give legs to stupid rumors like this? How much more clearly can an administration answer a stupid question like this? UPDATE: With 100,000 Iraqi recruits set complete their training by 31 January, 2005 and another 25,000 more on track by the end of 31 March, 2005, the US burden will be significantly eased. No they won't all be combat-ready, but will none of them? Re-instituting the draft is WAY down the list of options as incentives for recruitment now (signing bonuses, buddy plans, higher pay, etc.) will be raised if a shortage develops. Graduation classes at basic training ceremonies run in th hundreds (sometimes thousands) every couple of weeks and these young soldiers, sailors, etc. are being trained and prepared for assignment, unlike four or five years ago. Being a soldier is not for everyone but there are many young men and women proud to serve their country and wear its uniform. Try not to panic.

This has actually been brought up to congress as a bill recently. But get this... by a DEMOCRAT! If you listen to a liberal, they might make it sound like Bush is trying to say he won't have a draft but secretly is. This will not happen pre-election and I doubt it will ever happen during our war on terror. And like tboneya has posted, having a draft is filled with mistakes.

This will not happen pre-election. Too big a down-side on the political optics front. However, this is not outside the realm of possibility in the next year or two. The issue is not whether or not Bush gets re-elected, the issue is what paths foreign policy takes, and what manpower is available to pursue it. magellan's post makes cogent points.

Do you guys really think this is an outrageous scenario? We will be an occupying army in Iraq for the foreseeable future, and most believe that we already are spread too thin there. We are also in Afghanistan. As not many of our allies share the current administration's views on the wisdom of nation building and preemptive attacks on lousy regimes, we're not going to get a lot of help with manpower on current or future wars and the resulting occupations. If we follow current doctrine, there is no reason not to move against Iran. North Korea is still out there. The regimes of the Sudan and Nigeria are horrendous. Algeria is a freaking disaster. I'm not a big fan of Chavez in Venezuela. And Castro has been a thorn in the Bush's side for a long time. And what about the Saudis? Lots of bad folks out there to be taken out, and this requires manpower. Those of you who think I'm exaggerating can explain to me what makes Iraq different from any of the other countries that I mention. I would imagine that the number of kids volunteering for service will go down now that the body bags are coming home from the middle east. So it comes down to a numbers game. Increased demand for manpower. Fewer folks volunteering. Is there enough kids willing to volunteer to support our administration's aggressive take on foreign policy? There's a lot of wacky stuff on this Web site, but a discussion about prospect of a draft isn't one of them.

Please jot this down - the only people so far who suggested that the draft be reinstated are LIBERAL DEMOCRATS. It's a fact. George Bush has not. Get your facts straight before you mess your pants over something. UPDATE: I'm not saying a draft will NEVER happen - I'm saying it ISN'T happening now. I'm also saying that it's also apparently being used as a political tool in the form of a false accusation/rumor by the very party who is responsible for suggesting it in the first place. Pretty slimy stuff. The actual quote - If our great country becomes involved in an all-out war, the sacrifice must be shared. In that regard, I am preparing legislation to authorize reinstatement of the universal draft and other forms of mandatory national service. ~ Congressman Charles Rangel, a liberal Democrat from New York.

Bush cannot be relected i am 16 years old turning 17 soon and if the draft is reinstated where the hell will i end up when i get out.. if i ever get out.... i want to higher my education and bush wants nothing more than to finish what his father started. Bush is nothing more than an asshole and he deserves to be treated like an asshole

This isn't going to happen, because there is no NEED for it to happen!

It amazes me how desperate some people are to use emotional issues to try to influence an election. Go ahead & try to scare people out of voting for Bush, you will be surprised how informed most people are, they won't fall for it. I noticed how brave Anonymous is without his name being used. As for well go ahead & enlist, I did when it was my time during the 60's. As for students demonstrating, take it from someone who was there at the time, most of America's youth were not that vocal, just those rich kids whose families sent them to school (most of them burned themselves out with drugs anyway). The thing to do now is to show support for the kids over there now, send them things they need in the mail. They will appreciate not only the things you send them, but your support as well. They can use moistening cloths, sunscreen & other comfort items as well as magazines & puzzle books. My E-mail is macdwhac@aol.com if you'd like to respond.

This one is Very likely IF Bush and company is re-elected.

I don't see this happening. It isn't necessary! The country already has all the volunteers that it needs. I remember the days when LBJ and the draft were so unpopular. I can't imagine Bush making that mistake. But if someone else as foolish as LBJ gets elected, he might reinstate it.

As a general measure - I am not opposed to it. I am willing to protect the freedoms we enjoy in the USA. We are far from perfect, but if you are not willing to stand for us please take yourself to reside in the place you think you can support. We have many problems - Tell me the country you're going to change your citizenship to ... Or, reconsider supporting your citizen status here. There are always folks that agree and disagree on war decisions. I am real glad I am not doing the goose-step now....Due to folks before me: being drafted and keeping a Nut from taking over the world. You want to stand around while things like that go down...I invite you to speak to some of the folks walking around with numbers on their bodies - may be you even know some of them. The world is a small place - too small to have nuts running around wiping others out. Watching human suffering is never: someone elses job. I am pround of our Vets and what the US stands for - many in this world would love to have the freedoms we enjoy. There is no free lunch...

Good, then sign up now instead of waiting for the draft to come. Instead of those who are like me, who opposed this president in 2000, and oppose this war now, who will get stuck fighting. I hope this draft selects registered republican voters so they can lay in the bed they made.

During an election year, Bush would not do this. However, with 40 some percent of American troops not planning to reenlist, this would not be avoidable if George W. Bush is reelected and the U. N. doesn't step into Iraq to help. Do you want to fight an unjust and unpopular war? I sure don't. If Bush is reelected as president in 2004, the military draft will likely be reinstated by 2005.

A good majority of college students opposed the War in Iraq last year but yet they failed to protest it. Unlike the Vietnam generation before us, we didn't have to worry about being drafted into the army. Bush isn't going to re-instate the draft during an election year, that would be the kiss of death for him politically. An all volunteer army has it's benefits, a professionally trained soldier is bound to be more committed to the institution than a draftee. But it seems as if some of our leaders believe that the problem in Iraq and other parts of the world is that we don't have enough troops. To an extent they're right, we are overstretched and we do need more manpower. I have my criticisms of our international strategy which I've delinated in other forums, but I wouldn't have a problem being drafted for service. I'm of the opinion that when duty calls, you've got to answer it. It's not fair that someone else should have to fight in my place, we all have to take responsibility sometime in our lives.