Kerry, of course, was irrelevant up to now, what with his inexcusable gaffe bringing back memory of “I voted for it before I voted against it.” What he meant to say is also irrelevant in confrontation with what he actually said. The nuance of the quality of those in service is a no-brainer in that they are but a part of top-down system.

So Kerry, guilty of tortured logic, claimed he was referring to the lack of intelligent preparation on the part of Bush and the overall lack of brain power from Cheney, Rumsfeld and far too many generals, not the troops. Nevertheless, he blew it both ways.

I used to think that a draft is what is needed for the armed services, but it was predicated on my own experience in WWII even though I enlisted — there are no “good” wars anymore. However, the current situation infers that if enough politicians had to consider their own kids being subject to the draft in time of crisis, they would think twice about voting for unnecessary incursions; even then this would not curtail privileged exemptions as was often the case during Vietnam. Still, it is true that there would be a more egalitarian look to it, but it would not necessarily add to the “intelligent” level of the troops who, after all, are well trained and equipped to, simply follow orders of those who are apparently well-educated in technology and by military academies. Under any system bad apples get through.

Copyright © 2006 Richard R. Kennedy All rights reserved. Revised: November 2,  2006.

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