Our opinion on the draft

Time to talk candidly about draft

By BOBBY MULLER AND JEHMU GREENE

"The draft is becoming a political hot potato. Last week, Congress even took the extraordinary step of hastily scheduling a phony vote against legislation to restore the draft. But an empty vote in Congress will not end the debate.

Both presidential candidates have asserted that they oppose a draft. But what draft-age Americans should be asking is how the presidential hopefuls will either increase troop numbers and/or change our foreign policy to reduce force requirements and ensure that a draft does not become necessary.

Just because politicians and military leaders don't want to deal with the substance of this issue doesn't mean that momentum behind it won't be propelled by increasing anxiety about troop commitments, prolonged instability in Iraq and concern about another terrorist attack on U.S. soil.

It's time for a candid national dialogue about a possible return to conscription. The generation that would be called must know how the candidates will address the issue before - not after - the election."

Read the rest of the editorial, including where we debunk the myths about the draft, here.