Draft Test or “Don’t ask, don’t tell?”

It came to light today that the Pentagon is planning to test the military-draft machinery. To ease the apprehensive parents of 18 year-olds, they were being reassured that this will not happen until 2009, by which time everyone hopes the US will have disengaged from Iraq. But what is one more lie? As Secretary for Veterans Affairs Jim Nicholson said: "society would benefit" if we were to bring back the draft. There are for course, justifications for this.

Foremost, President Bush cannot find soldiers who are willing to die for his crusade. American soldiers with a few exceptions are about principles. While they are willing to defend their soil, they are not willing to go to the four corners of the world to fight the neo-conservative agenda and die in order to fulfill the agenda of the Project for the New American Century. They have woken up to the ugly truth. As such, there is a shortage of enlisted men to fight the next war – Iran. Battleships heading towards Iran, resolution sent to the United Nations Security Council, this White House is short of soldiers willing to die a futile death.

But even instituting the draft will have its complications. The United States Armed Forces prohibits homosexuals or bisexuals from serving in the armed forces. Unlike the previous policy, “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” does not allow the military to ask enlistees if they are gay, but similar to its predecessor, it does stipulate that service members who disclose that they are homosexual are subject to dismissal. The official justification for the current policy is the unit cohesion rationale, which states that military performance would decline if known gay and lesbian soldiers were permitted to serve in uniform.

In 2004, George W. Bush was re-elected to the White House based on a cultural divide and not partisanship. The divide was based on homosexuality and abortion. Undeniably, George W. Bush is the cause of almost approximately 700,000 deaths in Iraq alone by illegally invading that country. This gives a new meaning to pro-life. Instituting the draft, or merely testing the draft-machinery, will no doubt create a whole generation of homosexuals in this country; even if it is to avoid the armed forces. Better (pretend to) sleep with a man/woman than to take the life of one. I reckon.

Doubtless, this man will not have the army to attack Iran. But he does possess the madness to attack all the same. The methods at his disposable are horrendous at best. We all contribute to the making of history – some achieve infamy by expunging the rest of us. The 655,000 Iraqis are nameless. I pray that Iranians do not become nameless casualties of history. It is while we have a name and a voice, here or elsewhere, that we can save those about to become a number.