It is time for the United States to reinstitute the draft. This ill-advised, imperialist war against Iraq would never have been prosecuted if our collective sons' and daughters' lives were at risk. We as a nation have become desensitized to the horror of the Iraqi debacle. Without a draft there is no national conscience to restrain and counter the expansionist aspirations of dictators like George W. Bush. He attends no funerals. We are denied photos and videos of our fallen as they return, some are even shipped as cargo to save money. The troops don't have the armor necessary to protect themselves. Bush has raped the National Guard and thereby weakened our defenses at home.
Congressman Murtha should be lauded for his public commentary when he stated that he would not join the military at this time, nor would he recommend that our youth enlist. He is a decorated Marine who knows the horrors of war. No one has been more supportive of our military than Congressman Murtha. He has the ear and confidance of the Pentagon which, unfortunately, is held hostage by this malevolent cabal of chicken hawk neo-cons. The Pentagon is well aware of the abuses of this administration and the callous disregard for human life that elite patricians like Dubya demonstrate every time he shows his repulsive face in public.
The time for the draft is not only long overdue, but is the only truly patriotic method of sustaining a viable national security force. Every able bodied man and woman should be required to serve at least 2 years in the military or some supportive satellite organization. I truly think the youth of today would benefit greatly from the discipline that military life instills. Insuring that all Americans shoulder the burden of national security would not only renew civic vigor in our body politic but would also reconnect the people to its military. Yellow ribbons and trite phrases are pathetic substitutes for truly supporting the military and the nation with the blood and sacrifice of the full spectrum of our society.
Bush and the Republican party must be repudiated. We must deny him and his henchmen the ability to wage wars of choice. Plans for the Iraq war were hatched long before 9-11. The war in Iraq has absolutely nothing to do with the war on terror. Only the most ardent kool-aid drinking righty could ever trust the president to have the American peoples' best interest at heart. We should never blindly trust our president without transparent oversight and this latest incarnation is undoubtedly the most pernicious despot the country has ever had to endure.
America, the world is watching. This is a most critical election year and will define us as a people for decades to come. Even in the face of certain Republican voting chicanery, we must exercise our civic duty and change the face of Congress so that we can, through impeachment, disgorge this impostor who has debased a great nation and led the world to the brink of world war. Ribet...ribet