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CounterPunch
January
10, 2003
What Does Charlie
Want?
Notes on Shared Sacrifice & the Draft
By ANTHONY GANCARSKI
Democrats head toward the 2004 election facing
any number of problems. Various factions of the party jostling
for the Presidential nomination. A House majority leader described
by one of my readers as "having had the Botox take hold
of her brain." As senior a figure as Representative Rangel
believing that advocating military conscription will somehow
result in a poll bounce.
On the surface, the recent Rangel media
blitz seems almost purposefully disingenuous. The phrase "shared
sacrifice" brims with such schmaltz that Tom Brokaw would
dismiss it as overdone were he still alive. Given that virtually
everyone willing to speak on the record crafts coherent  arguments against Rangel's proposal
to reinstate the draft, it seems just a tad suspicious that Rangel
has gotten as much face time as David Frum and the Raelians combined
in the last couple of weeks. Why so much play for a proposal
dismissed by Rumsfeld and others as unworkable and directly counter
to what is widely touted as an increased specialization in the
armed forces?
Still more questions. Assuming that Rangel's
proposal were to pass, and the nation was blessed with another
million or two active duty soldiers, what tasks would they undertake?
Increased collaboration between the military and civilian law-enforcement
in police actions? Occupation of Burkina Faso? Rangel demurs
from addressing specific applications of this increased federal
manpower. It's telling that no one interviewing him, to my knowledge,
has asked the Congressman what all these young, strapping lads
and lasses are intended to do with their munitions.
So, why the Rangel push for bringing
back the draft, when it's so repellent to both the Defense Department
and members of his own party such as Senator John Edwards? Even
as a Swiftian reaction to the so-called poverty draft that stocks
the military with folks lacking better career options, the New
York Democrat's proposal falls flat. It's impossible to accept
Rangel's suggestion that conscription would lead to a more humane,
less war-mongering foreign policy. Conscription is what it looks
like on the surface; yet another blatant attempt to increase
federal power.
Does Rangel hope to outflank the Defense
Department to the "right" on this issue? That would
be a dangerous game, if it weren't so quixotic. Rangel will take
fire for a draft proposal that is unworkable in the current climate,
allowing Rumsfeld's gang to come off as moderate voices of reason.
The real fun on this issue will be seeing which of the Congressman's
colleagues will support this initiative. Imagine the irony when
Corrine Brown, a Florida Congresswoman who once told SPY magazine
how we could improve our foreign policy toward Freedonia, comes
out in favor of this draft. Never mind what country we're going
to invade with these "sacrifices". Just get them into
the service and let boot camp sort them out.
Anthony Gancarski's first published book is UNFORTUNATE
INCIDENTS [2001, Diversity]. He welcomes emails at Anthony.Gancarski@attbi.com.
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January
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