Sacrifice? Who, Us?

"In the 20th century, more than 16 million Americans were inducted into the Armed Forces using Selective Service during time of war. Over a million more were conscripted and honorably served during the peacetime draft of the 1950s. But since June 30, 1973, no American has been impressed into military service.

Those draftees were much more than cannon fodder. United with military professionals, American conscripts won World War II, occupied Western Europe and Japan, and laid the groundwork for eventual victory in the Cold War.

The important variable was not military experience, but commitment, maturity and skill. When the industrial and moral might of the United States was unleashed against her enemies, the unshakable will of the American people really did conquer the world. Not so today. As pundits proclaim a third world war, America frets over Tom Cruise, Paris Hilton and Mel Gibson.

Five years ago, when the United States was attacked and 3,000 civilians murdered, Americans were ready to fight back. Instead of seizing the moral force offered to him, our president ordered us to shrug.

So we did.

In 2003, the United States pre-emptively struck Iraq without a plan to maintain postwar order. Shrug. In 2004, military generals repeatedly requested additional forces for their assigned missions. Shrug. In 2005, the Army Reserve's commanding general said that his force was broken. Shrug. In 2006, the Mexican Army started throwing its weight around on America's porous border, getting into several skirmishes with local law enforcement. Shrug.

And on Tuesday, the Marine Corps announced the recall of up to 2,500 former Marines back into active duty.

Ya think it might be time for a draft? Shrug.

Apparently, the Canadians will have to invade for the draft to ever be used again.

It's not just the civilian leaders. Much of military doesn't want the burdens of training draftees, arguing that volunteers are more motivated and professional. (They also aren't troublesome in unpopular wars, such as the current one.) The brass see a signature on the dotted line as a necessary safeguardagainst sagging morale.

To remedy personnel shortages, policymakers in the Defense Department prefer to hire seasoned rogues from Blackwater, construction workers from Kellogg, Brown & Root, and even cooks from India and Bangladesh. With the Pentagon's budget big enough to count as one of the world's 20 largest economies, any personnel shortage can, theoretically, always be solved with money. Six-figure salaries for mercenaries make it easier to fight whenever we please, rather than deal with the inconveniences of an apathetic populace.

The Pentagon's approach might be wrong, but Congress is be too cowardly to ever impose a draft against the military's will. In October 2004, the House of Representatives voted 402-2 against a bill to restore mandatory service. Ironically, one of the two dissenting votes came from Rep. Jack Murtha (D-Pa.), who acquired both fame and infamy in later months for his emotional denunciations of the war in Iraq.

The insurance policy of Selective Service has failed. Most in the military think that Americans are unwilling to accept the calling of a draft, so they accept the shortages while screaming for reinforcements. Unfortunately, surveys indicate that they are right: A 2003 USA Today poll found that 52 percent of Americans eligible for conscription would either seek a deferment or simply not serve.

So let's save ourselves some money and dissolve the Selective Service System. At least then we could deal openly with our societal aversion to sacrifice. The posters at post offices have become a dangerous façade."

David J. Danelo, a former Marine captain and Iraq war veteran, is the author of "Blood Stripes: The Grunt's View of the War in Iraq" and the editor of "U.S. Cavalry on Point." He can be reached via his Web site, danelo.com.

When Rome began relying on far too many mercenaries...

Things went to shit. But it's true that personal sacrifice is anathema to our society in general, and to even THINK of instituting some sort of selective service sends soccer-moms a'screaming, so what's a nation to do?

Start learning how to surrender. And I'm serious. The days of Americans pitching together to save the world are long gone, and we can only rely upon our technology for so long. We need boots on the ground and we get women holding up check-in lines at airports because they refuse to hand over their makeup. And instead of tossing them in a holding cell to demonstrate just how serious this all is, we coddle them.

Because we've become a nation of coddlers and nanny's. We bitch about the price of gas but drive 2-ton beasts that proclaim our obvious wealth and success. We want security but only if the other guy mans the wall. We want criminals in prison but don't want prisons. In our largest cities we want the police to camp outside our doors because we can't protect ourselves since handing over our weapons, and we're supposed to protect Europe and Asia and the Middle East?

The same "us" who after being invaded by illegals decided that the best way to handle it was "If you speak English, press 1..."?

The experiment was a noble one, but it's over. We need to get serious about starting a real U.N., one where like-minded countries can band together to face the moslem scourge because we've no longer the will to defend ourselves let alone others, but that isn't happening. Ever.

The soccer moms won and we lost. Time to get over it and await the next attack from our avowed enemies with the hope that perhaps we'll survive.