WAR CZAR: “IT’S A LITTLE DRAFTY IN THIS BASEMENT…”
Army Lt. Gen. Douglas Lute is the Czar of all the Wars here in the United States. You can be forgiven if you’ve never heard of him or from him. He is the most invisible of the President’s national security team.
His official title is “Assistant to the President and Deputy National Security Advisor for Iraq and Afghanistan.” You can see why with a handle like that, they decided to christen him “The War Czar.” But the kicker is in a description of his responsibilities:
In the newly created position, Lute will coordinate often disjointed military and civilian operations and manage the Washington side of the same troop increase he resisted before Bush announced the plan in January. Bush hopes an empowered aide working in the White House and answering directly to him will be able to cut through bureaucracy that has hindered efforts in Iraq.
The selection capped a difficult recruitment process for the White House, as its initial candidates rejected the job. At least five retired four-star generals approached by the White House or intermediaries refused to be considered. Lute, a three-star general now serving as chief operations officer on the Joint Chiefs of Staff, in effect will jump over many superiors as he moves to the West Wing and assumes authority to deal directly with Cabinet secretaries and top commanders.
I never knew that it was “bureaucracy” that was hindering our war effort in Iraq. Is that shorthand for stupidity? Incompetence? Lack of planning? Myopia? Ideology supplanting military common sense?
Who would’ve known?
And the fact that 5 retired generals with nothing better to do decided to turn the job down does not give me a lot of confidence in the abilities of General Lute, although I’m sure he’s a competent enough fellow. He certainly can’t do anything to make things worse in Iraq. No one could.
Unable to cause too much mischief overseas, General Lute decided to make some headlines here at home.
Frequent tours for U.S. forces in Iraq and Afghanistan have stressed the all-volunteer force and made it worth considering a return to a military draft, President Bush’s new war adviser said Friday.
“I think it makes sense to certainly consider it,” Army Lt. Gen. Douglas Lute said in an interview with National Public Radio’s “All Things Considered.”
“And I can tell you, this has always been an option on the table. But ultimately, this is a policy matter between meeting the demands for the nation’s security by one means or another,” said Lute, who is sometimes referred to as the “Iraq war czar.” It was his first interview since he was confirmed by the Senate in June.
President Nixon abolished the draft in 1973. Restoring it, Lute said, would be a “major policy shift” and Bush has made it clear that he doesn’t think it’s necessary.
“The president’s position is that the all-volunteer military meets the needs of the country and there is no discussion of a draft. Gen. Lute made that point as well,” National Security Council spokesman Gordon Johndroe said.
In the interview, Lute also said that “Today, the current means of the all-volunteer force is serving us exceptionally well.”
Obviously, anyone with half a brain (and judging by the number of lefty sites that have picked up on these comments, we can exclude them) knows full well that there is a better chance of a George Bush pictorial in Playgirl Magazine than there is for a draft. It isn’t going to happen in this war or any other war America will ever fight. For better or worse, our military will remain all volunteer, all the time. If Viet Nam taught us anything about domestic politics, it is that there will always be a sizable, vocal segment of young people who will refuse to be drafted for a variety of reasons, not always because they would refuse to defend America or her interests. This is the lay of the political landscape and I doubt even an invasion by a foreign power or powers would change it.
As for those with half a brain (or less), leave it to Kos himself to bring up the chickenhawk argument:
There’s only so much that war supporters are willing to do in their might and heroic struggle against Islamofacism. For example, they’re willing to endlessly talk macho. But they’re not willing to, you know, actually wear combat boots.
This clash of civilizations is only the Most Important Struggle Of Our Time as long as they don’t actually have to do anything about it. That’s for the poor shlubs who signed up to deal with.
So does Kos support a draft? In order to make his chickenhawk smear stick, he has to. He supports the idea of sending war supporters to Iraq so I guess he’s for a draft to accomplish that, right?
Watch the 26%ers, who support the occupation of Iraq from afar by buying car stickers, jump to agree with Bush and suggest Lute was a bad choice…while quietly checking out entry requirements for Canada.
As for us lefties? We’ll just smugly point out that a draft wouldn’t need even passing consideration if Bush hadn’t wasted all that time and all those resources, as well as exhausting the Army, by invading Iraq instead of concentrating on Afghanistan.
But we should “consider” a draft, right Cernig? Since you don’t come out against it, you must be for it.
Actually, a draft might be just what this country needs to finally - finally get these lazy ass lefties off their fat behinds and get them in the streets so that they can put something on the line to end this war besides their hurt feelings when righty bloggers insult them. Their fathers and mothers (or older brothers and sisters) stopped a much larger war that was much more popular than the Iraq conflict (support for the Viet Nam war never fell below 50%). And they did it in a nation much less tolerant of dissent
I have made the point several times that it is ridiculous for the left to castigate Iraq war supporters for not putting their money where their mouths are when they themselves sit safely behind their monitors, allowing the war to go on. This is a war they claim to hate with a passion. A war that is ruining the country. A war that is leading to dictatorship. A war that is destroying our standing in the world. A war for oil or to satisfy the bloodlust of the President and Vice President. An evil, despicable, unnecessary, unjust, war started by evil, despicable men, right?
Holy Jesus! And the best you can do is sit in your parent’s basement writing not very clever slop about “chickenhawks?” Get up off your ample behinds and CONFRONT the “evil” if that is what you believe. How much courage does it take to talk a good game when you have the example of the Berrigans, David Sloane Coffin, Martin Luther King, and thousands like them who went to jail in order to stop a war.
Your ideological ancestors were getting clubbed over the head or hauled off to jail 35 years ago. But the best these anti-war “heroes” can do today is stay safely hunched over their keyboards, writing idiotic, exaggerated, diatribes against a president they hate while engaging in childish name calling. It is truly pathetic. And speaking as someone who marched against the Viet Nam War many times, getting a whiff of tear gas on more than one occasion (I was too much of a coward to get myself arrested back then), you make me sick.
General Lute is right that the military is near the breaking point. God knows our soldiers have given their all and then some and have been ill-served by both their civilian and military commanders. But there will not be a draft. And my advice to Lute is that he go back to his bureaucratic cubbyhole in the basement of the White House and keep his mouth shut.
I do think that we’re at a turning point here. If one truly believes (and I do not) that we’re involved in a ‘clash of civilizations’ then it seems one would have to admit that the volunteer Army could not be made large enough to do the job. Want to stop Iran? Bombing won’t cut it; you’ll need to invade and occupy that country, and it’s 2 1/2 times bigger than Iraq.
Comment by Gregdn — 8/11/2007 @ 10:24 am
Hi Rick,
I thought it was obvious I would prefer to see a phased withdrawal, as quickly as is militarily possible, from Iraq instead. That would fix the same problems a draft would.
And I think Kos would laugh at your faulty logic and reply that a draft wouldn’t fix the fact that supporters of the Iraq war should be volunteering to help out an army they’ve brought to such overstretch. I don’t know for sure, though, I’m not a fan of his.
Nice work on the Scooby-Doo Villain faux-outrage though.
Regards, C
Comment by Cernig — 8/11/2007 @ 10:26 am
recall the five stages of dealing with bad stuff: Denial, Anger, Bargaining, Depression, and Acceptance.
i think you’re mired in Anger. you admit the war is a total screwup, the military is near the breaking point, and there’s no chance of a draft. but then you vent at a Kossack post. this may help you work through your own “grief” but otherwise it’s just sad to observe.
i believe i have reached the depression phase. i still feel crappy but am glad to be beyond foaming at the mouth.
and take heart. at least you are no longer in denial like Gregdn (#1) who seems to think that our current military can occupy Iran.
Comment by Hyperion — 8/11/2007 @ 11:01 am
A draft would be the optimal solution to the current situation. This would give us the troop strength that we need to win the current wars in Iraq and Afghanistan or at least it would give us a chance to win. Also, it would give us a credible deterrent to Russia and China. Right now we hav no credible military deterent to Russia and it is unlikely the US military could stand up to China.
America faces existential threats on multiple fronts. These are from Russia, China, and from Islamic terrorists. By far and away the most dangerous threat is from Russia. The US military is completely inadquate, in every phase, to stand any chance against Russia. If the Army is allowed to be worn down any further, the Army will soon be inadequate to deal with Islamic terrorists. It is probably already inadequate to deal with China. Also, our enemies, such as Iran, are increasing their military strength in all phases. At the current rate, within a couple of years, the US military will be completely inadequate to deal with any of America’s enemies.
If America is to survive, it needs to significantly increase its military capabilities in all phases. Part of how we should do this is with a draft. Without a draft the US cannot continue to be a major world power. In fact, implementing a draft is probably necessary to give America a reasonable chance at basic survival.
Alas, we cannot implement a draft. As such, it is not worth considering. Part of good leadership is finding solutions to major problems that can actually be implemented. The Islamic terrorists we face in Iraq and Afghanistan are existential threats to America. Since we cannot implement a draft, what can we do?
I suggest the following: 1.) Withdraw completely from Iraq and Afghanistan. The withdrawl should begin without delay and the troops should be withdrawn as quickly as can be done safely. Admittedly, this will conceded ground to our enemies, however, it is better to do this now before the Army completely breaks. 2.) Use these troops that have been withdrawn from the Middle East to secure America’s northern and southern borders. 3.) Develop more of our own domestic oil and natural gas resources and build more refineries. This will mean opening up places like ANWR for drilling. This should have happened long ago. The fact that this has not been done is an example of criminal negligence. In addition to this, more nuclear power plants will need to be built. This will all take some time to implement but at least with secure borders we could buy ourselves some time. With more domestic energy sources available we will have some leverage when dealing with OPEC countries and Venezuela. Right now, if we were to negotiate, we have no leverage. 3.)The mosques should be closely monitored. We know the profile for terrorists. People within this group should be closely scrutinized. 4.)A moratorium should be placed on immigration to America from Muslim lands. In other words, no one should be allowed to immigrate to the US from Muslim lands for the foreseeable future. America faces an existential threat from said people, it is incredibly stupid to allow the enemy free access to your country. Btw, Geroge W. Bush is the worst president in American history.
The policies mentioned above have a reasonable chance to work and they can be implemented. A draft cannot be implemented. As such, at this time, it is a waste of time and resources to consider it.
With regards to point number 1 we will be withdrawing from Iraq very soon. After the interm report is delivered in Septemeber, the President will lose even what little support he has left. In any event, we have little choice. The Army is nearing the breaking point. The withdraw will begin in late September and will be completed by July 31, 2008. By August 1, 2008 there will be no American military forces of any type any where in Iraq. If I turn out to be wrong, I will come here and admit it. Given that the complete withdrawl is inevitable, it makes it even more imperative that we implement points 2-4 or some variation of them that I mention above. After our withdrawl, our enemies will be stronger and we will be weaker. This is why implementation of points 2-4 or some variation of them becomes absolutely critical.
Rick seems to believe that it would be impossible to implement a draft even after an attack on the American homeland by a foreign power or foreign powers. He may be right but I hope not. If a group of foreign powers attacked America, I would expect us to fight vigorously to defend our country, however, by that time it may be too late. It may already be to late. If the current situation is allowed to continue, America is unlikely to survive much longer.
Even if we do what I suggest, it may already to late to adequately defend America. The military gap that America’s enemies have opened up against it may already be too great to be overcome. A healthy dose of divine providence may be the only thing that can save America at this point.
Comment by B.Poster — 8/11/2007 @ 12:06 pm
I wanted a military draft on 9/12/01. Unfortunately it could not be implmented then and it cannot be implemented now. As such, it is a waste of time to consider that right now. Policy makers need to come up with other policies to defend the US. A good place for policy makers to start is by determining which policies that have a chance to work can actually be implemented. The policies that I mention in the previous post will likely be supported by the American people. A draft will not have their support. Granted I would not expect the elite media to support the policies I outline above but the American people likely would.
Comment by B.Poster — 8/11/2007 @ 12:13 pm
Hyperion: you misread my post (or perhaps I wasn’t clear). I pointed out the size difference between Iraq and Iran specifically to point out how ridiculous it would be to try to attack Iran with our current forces.
We either adjust the mission (my preferred strategy) or increase the military.
Comment by Gregdn — 8/11/2007 @ 1:41 pm
Who is there to command an army to invade Iran. We have been getting our fannies kicked in Iraq for four and a half years. It seems to me that four and a half years of total failure would indicate that our generals just havn’t got it. Generals Petraeus and Odierno have both been in Iraq for previous tours and are probably part of the problem. Our Generals never get blamed for failure and everyone sings the praises of our troops so I guess our ongoing failure is the work of “bad fairies”. Certainly the Bush administration can’t be blamed.
Comment by Carlyle Perry — 8/11/2007 @ 3:18 pm
I don’t dispute for one second that things have been botched in Iraq. But to say we’ve been getting our “fannies kicked” is just not true in any sense.
Perhaps if you can name one engagement where al-Qaeda or the insurgents have come out on top, I would revise that assessment. Plus, we’re killing 10 of theirs for very one of ours. To say that we’re getting our “fannies kicked” is demonstrably false.
I agree with your assessment otherwise. Previous commanders didn’t have a clue - nor did the suits in the Pentagon or their military counterparts. Petreaus has evidently been able to apply what he learned and make adjustments. The results speak for themselves.
Comment by Rick Moran — 8/11/2007 @ 3:24 pm
Rick,
I might put forth that you’re both right and wrong about “getting our fannies kicked.” It’s true that militarily, we have not, are not, and cannot lose in a military sense, but insurgencies and civil wars operate on a different plane and are not ultimately decided by simple combat operations. One could argue combat operations are secondary to concepts like population control and protection, information & media ops, etc. The surge was precisely designed to address the former, and as for the latter we are most certainly getting our fannies kicked among the constituencies that count.
Comment by Andy — 8/11/2007 @ 4:29 pm
Oh by the way…what would I know about getting my fanny kicked?
Who gets their fanny kicked hiding behind a blog? Besides, I know that I sure as hell wouldn’t go to Iraq. Heck, I don’t even use my real name in these comments! I’m so pathetic, I pretend I’m Rick Moran because if he knew who I was, he might come and beat me up. And since I really am pretty much of a coward, I figure if I use Rick’s name, no one will be able to tell that I’ve had a 3rd grade education and still wear training diapers.
Comment by Rick Moran — 8/11/2007 @ 5:28 pm
by the way, don’t miss KOs, my personal hero and blogger who will be on Meet The Press explaining why we here are in the toilet.
By the way - everyone knows I’m not really Rick Moran. You can tell from the fact that the above are comments from an idiot, not a smart guy like Rick.
I can’t help it if I wet my pants over Rick. I love him and want to have him - in a manly sort of way, of course. I love him so much I pretend I’m him.
Gotta go - my mom is knocking on my door wondering if I’m playing with myself again - thinking about Rick, of course.
Comment by Rick Moran — 8/11/2007 @ 5:32 pm
It is a huge disappointment to learn here that our new generation of young men are not willing to be drafted, even in a homeland crisis, just as their elders tried not to be during Nam. (This, of course, is not strictly speaking their option, since the draft is a legal obligation.) So to avoid serving, they do have a few options: run to Canada; hide in the underground somehow; find a disability, or get a deferment, or perhaps a conscientious objector status.
The first two of these options would mark them for life for what they are, and would prevent them from having many opportunities later on. I for one, would not hire someone who would run from his duty to the nation, and every firm I ever worked for or with had the same policy. I respect deferments that are logical and beneficial in the long run for the nation, such as to go to medical school or a critical job, but not those given by political influence. I also respect the objectors if they are sincere and not trumped up.
As for the rest, they get selected, drafted, trained, and sent where needed. If they are demonstrably bad soldiers, they get a courts martial for their lack of military discipline.
It is up to them.
To say that we should not ever have a draft because a large number of the youth would not serve is simply ludicrous. Perhaps it is those who won’t serve that we should give a ticket to Toronto after their penalty has been served and recorded here in yellow ink for all posterity.
Comment by mannning — 8/11/2007 @ 11:18 pm
“Right now we hav no credible military deterent to Russia and it is unlikely the US military could stand up to China.”
Don’t you have a whole bunch of nuclear weapons sitting in silos and subs?
Comment by Drongo — 8/12/2007 @ 1:43 am
“Don’t you have a whole bunch of nuclear weapons sitting in silos and subs.” Probably, however, the Russians have more and they have made advancements to their systems in recent years. The Americans have not done much to maintain or advance their systems in recent years. The Russian systems are so far beyond the American systems that they could probably eliminate America before it even had a chance to respond.
Any attempt to use deploy nuclear weapons against China would likely result in a nuclear retaliation by Russia. As it stands right now, the US would be unlikely to prevail in such a situation.
In a conventional war with China, China’s huge numbers would likely overwhelm any qualitative edge the Americans might have. So, right now the US has no reasonable credible military deterrent to Russia or China.
This can be changed. The Americans and hopefully the Western European nations can build up their military capabilities. There is still time but time grows short. Also, the Americans should upgrade their nuclear arsenal. It would also be helpful if the British, the French, and other Western European powers would expand and upgrade their nuclear arsenals as well.
In addition to this, Israel acts as a buffer between the Western world and Islamic terrorists. Steps should be taken to bolster Israel’s military capabilities.
I have briefly discussed some of the military steps we can take to preserve the survival of our civilization. None of what I have discussed necessarily means invading anyone. These things mainly involve bolstering our defenses.
Some non military steps that should be taken are the Americans should aggressively develop more of their own oil and gas resources and build more refineries. Also, more nuclear power plants should be built. The Western Europeans should aggressively develop all of the natural resources they have. In summary, there needs to be an aggressive attempt to lessen our dependence on Russia and the Middle East for our energy supplies. As we lessen our dependence on Russia and the Middle East for our energy supplies this will give us some leverage when negotiating.
Also, the US and other free nations should place a moratorium on immigration from Muslim countries and the mosques should be closely monitored. We know the profile for a terrorists. It seems foolish not to closely monitor these people.
Comment by B.Poster — 8/12/2007 @ 1:21 pm
We know the profile for a terrorists. It seems foolish not to closely monitor these people.
You mean White & Christian like Tim McVeigh? Yeah, I agree. We should keep an eye on those traitors.
Comment by r4d20 — 8/13/2007 @ 12:26 pm
r4d20
The people you mentioned are already being closely monitored. They are even more closely scrutinized than Islamic groups are.
Comment by B.Poster — 8/13/2007 @ 2:24 pm