<p>I am with calmom…our eldest has volunteered for Habitat for Humanity for yrs. His friends volunteer a couple of weeks every year going to poor areas to build homes. Out of his 4 best friends and himself only 1 will not be joining the military (all will be going to different branches through ROTC), so they are very interested in Iraq. I am pretty sure that their involvement is just on a different spectrum than yours!</p>
<p>Our DD has also been involved in our community for a couple of years now, since she was about 14</p>
<p>Calmom and B&P–I was referring to high-profile political involvement–specifically the anti-war movement during the Vietnam era, which fueled massive youthful protest/involvement/etc. and made the national news on a nightly basis. Their lives were potentially on the line back then because of the draft, which was undoubtedly a huge motivator for those who opposed the war. … </p>
<p>I totally agree with you that kids today are terrific, my own two included :). My girls have (one or both) worked on Habitat houses; adopted a “grandma” at a senior citizens home; canvassed neighborhoods for political candidates; volunteered in soup kitchens; served as volunteer tutors at a local literacy center. Etc. … Both are unhappy with the Iraq situation, but since it hasn’t much potential to affect them personally (at this point), they’re pretty disengaged on that front. As are most of their friends. Were they from an active military family, I’m sure they’d see things differently.</p>
<p>Well I agree that most are not actively involved in the Iraq situation mainly due to the fact that there will never be a draft again. Fear is an incredible motivator.</p>
<p>I didn’t find either ad racist, not even racial. And if anybody know what racist means, they would say the same.</p>
<p>I did find the McCain ads despicably low for someone who runs a campaign with honor.</p>
<p>And looking at the poll numbers for African Americans, almost 50% believing the Obama comment was racist, leads me to conclude that their was bias in the wording of the question skewing the results so that both people who thought Obama’s comment was racist (which it isn’t by any definition) and people who thought the republican campaign was racist in that they were doing what Obama was saying, so that both would answer ‘yes’ to the question.</p>
[quote]
Well I agree that most are not actively involved in the Iraq situation mainly due to the fact that there will never be a draft again.</p>
<p>(sadly shakes head) I wish I could believe that were true, but somehow, I suspect we’ll be faced with a draft sooner than any of us can currently imagine. :(</p>
<p>If our wars in Iraq and Afghanistan drag on much longer, it’s a possibility. … And if we end up someday with another predatory president who likes to start wars, it’s a possibility.</p>
<p>The only ones calling for a draft are Democratic members of Congress who want to use the fear of a draft as a political point. </p>
<p>Are the services being put under strain because of the number and length of deployments? Certainly. But they are handling it, and with a volunteer force that is the best trained and most motivated in our history. As someone who has worked in the Pentagon, I know the screams that would come from the top there if a unnessecary draft was imposed on the military. We do NOT want to go back to the days where you had the ranks filled with people just wanting to do their time and get out, or were offered a choice between service or jail. Besides, to properly train people today for most of the high-tech positions they would fill takes years; why finally get someone ready only to have them leave a few months later. My last word on this: today’s military members are some of the most professional people youwill ever meet; we want to keep it that way.</p>
<p>Now, if WWIII breaks out, all bets are off…</p>
<p>The troops will come from your house and mine, poetsheart, once a draft is instituted if/when we go to war with Iran. They’ll be the children of families who don’t have the money/clout/influence/or inclination to weasel their way out of service as our beloved chickenhawk Cheney did during Vietnam. In his own words, “he had priorities other than military service.”</p>
<p>Not in a million years. We have the capability in place now to win in Iran, if the objective is only to eliminate their nuclear capability. Even if the war expands to cover the entire peninsula, we have enough power projection capability to meet most of the strategic objectives they could throw at us. </p>
<p>For a draft to happen, we would have to be faced with a long, drawn out situation where the very survival of America is at stake. And that is why we are hestitant to INVADE Iran, becuase we just don’t know what the other BIG players in the world would do in response. </p>
<p>Is there loud rhetoric coming from the current administration? Yes, but it’s all a part of the DIPLOMATIC process.</p>
<p>Bluffing is one way to see it. But we can also back it up with the threat of force, if neccessary. Not an invasion per se, but Iran also knows that if we wanted their nuclear sites gone, there is little to no chance they could stop us, using other means. The threat to us is that it could escalate. Again, all part of the calculated DIPLOMATIC game played on the world stage</p>