I think they're softening up the ground for Bush to make it easier for him to reinstate the draft. The "military expert" is one the religious right always uses, and this is published in their propaganda organ. They don't publish something like this without a reason. And when Bush's radical right buddies start pushing a draft, everyone under 40 had better watch it.
A military expert and Pentagon advisor says the United States should look at Germany if it wants to find a way to solve the long-term military recruiting problem. While President Bush and most Pentagon officials want to avoid a draft, retired Army Lt. Colonel Bob Maginnis says unless the pace of the war on terror decreases, conscription might be America's best recourse. He notes, "I have a half-brother who lives in Germany who, when he was 18, after his high school, had to provide mandatory public service -- either the military or he could go into social service. It was still the same 18-month obligation. He helped invalids in his community, and it was an organized program." While his brother chose the social service option, Maginnis points out that the Germans "fill their army with conscripts who would rather go into the army." The military advisor says unless the current pace of the war decreases, the U.S. might have to reinstate the draft, and he feels the German option would be fair to everyone.
