The Case Against Voluntary Armies
The case here begins with an attempt at historical perspective. Except for Cuba and Mexico the U.S., early on in our history, was not much concerned about invading other countries. If others didn't bother us, we didn't bother them. I don't know how much of this was any ethical or moral superiority to other nations---it was more likely due to our vast frontier. Expansion, for the United States, was within our own nation, we hardly needed colonies in other parts of the world.
But the frontier vanished rather quickly coupled with a vast increase in our ability to produce a wide variety of marketable products. Our interest in Hawaii, the Philippines and a few other Pacific nations was fueled by economic considerations, not any genuine desire to bring progress and freedom to primitive peoples. This kind of motive may have been the motive of individual missionaries, but in reality these missionaries just made it easier for us to invade and thereby ensure a foothold for American Corporations. The profits from these markets barely affected the economic prosperity of the native populations. It was trickle down in it's most abused form. There has hardly ever been any native population who has ever profited much being invaded by, and subjugated by, any foreign nation. Ask the American Indians, the native Hawaiians, the native Philippinos, the Vietnamese, the Afghanistans, most African nations, etc. Despite the assertions of many, these 'friendly' invasions have little to do with religion, form of government, culture-----no, it has invariably more to do with economic exploitation. Cheap labor and cheap products are the fueling points.
Until World Wars I and II the United States was dead set against getting involved in the wars of other nations. World War I and World War II remain the most noble wars the U.S. ever waged. We really did help prevent other countries from being conquered by armies from Germany, Italy, and Japan. All other major powers paid a painful price in terms of destruction to their own infrastructure and industries. We did not. No one bombed our cities and manufacturing facilities. The second World War did a lot to pull the U.S. out of the depression and establish us a a robust industrial and military power. It is becoming less and less clear that this was any long term blessing. Some, and I included, would argue that all this military and unregulated capitalism has brought us to the brink of catastrophic collapse. Time will tell.
It was only after World War II that the United States began to view itself as not only the protector of the 'free world' but the policeman. Politicians saw evil behind any country whose policies we could not control. You were either for us and cooperated with us, or you were against us. That was the bottom line, not democracy or Christianity, or culture or ethnicity. We expected, and mostly got nations to let our companies mine their natural resources or own land to cultivate crops. We believed we were chosen by God with a manifest destiny to save the world and protect the world from evil sources.
Colonialism by Europe didn't end because of any moral principles, but primarily because the colonies became too expensive to maintain and too expensive to control. Without putting a policeman on every corner local populations become increasingly difficult to control. In other words the cost of exploitation became greater than the benefits. The U.S. became rich enough that it could afford military bases all over the globe and mount invasions of other countries to protect our economic interests. The turning point was Vietnam. This, or so it was thought, would be a cake walk. A primitive third world country against a country with vast military might. We lost 35,000 soldiers and we killed roughly 2 million Vietnamese. And we lost. Ho Chi Minh was, if nothing else, a very perceptive military genius: "You can kill ten of our men for every one we kill of yours. But even at those odds, you will lose and we will win." It was here that effective terrorism began. It was here where the notion that the security of the United States is dependent on what type of government some small nation has was debunked. It was here, that for the first time, the American public stopped an American invasion through street protests and widespread disillusionment.
Vietnam could have been a real learning lesson but it was short lived. As Eisenhower had predicted, a vast military industrial complex had grown to such a proportion that enabled it to virtually control many government decisions. It was that sly ole Nixon who correctly assessed that the draft had to go or the U.S. would be limited on what kinds of wars we could begin. People care if they or their own kids and friends get drafted into a war and possibly killed. And people care if they themselves have to sacrifice for wars of questionable necessity. And thus America became a nation with a voluntary army AND in order to ensure most people don't have to sacrifice for wars the wars were fought on borrowed money. This takes care of street riots. Through all the recent wars most Americans have not suffered at all. In a very real sense war and weaponry have become our most viable industry. Wars are now being waged, hardly at all on any ethical basis, but for economic reasons and blind patriotism. We still use words like freedom fighters and peace warriors and insist our sacrifices are all for sound moral values---peace, freedom, democracy, etc.
Why, it might be asked, would anyone volunteer to serve in the armed forces and be sent to virtual hell holes all over the globe? A good percentage of the young who volunteer do it because they need a decent paying secure job. They either sign up or remain unemployed or trapped in a bad neighborhood environment. A much smaller percentage are attracted to the violence and the adrenaline rush which goes with it. Of course these kind of young people shouldn't be let loose in anyone's neighborhood with a weapon. If you talk to one of these young people and see the eagerness with which they seek military engagements it is really scary. They wouldn't last long on our own domestic police force. Then there are those who are filled with blind patriotic propaganda: "My country right or wrong". They see it as their patriotic duty to go any where, fight any war, for any reason, if the government declares it is necessary. In all these cases courage cannot be denied. Most of us don't have that kind of brainless courage. These people need to become cliff climbers and bungee jumpers and anything which requires courage without killing other people. They are certainly useful in legitimate wars as long as they are a minority of soldiers and are kept in line. This balance is hard to accomplish with a voluntary army.
A military draft serves a necessary purpose. It prevents our Government from waging unethical wars. It ensures our armies don't become goon squads--- disrespecting, torturing, and mistreating citizens in the area of conflict. And if war is necessary, it ought to be something for which all Americans are asked to sacrifice. There needs to be a strong reason to go to war, much like there was in World War I and II. And war should be paid for by the generation who wages it. We have waged war and instituted tax cuts at the same time while borrowing huge amounts of money to pay for the war. In all the recent wars I can't think of any way in which I personally had to sacrifice anything. In a legitimate war every citizen sacrifices for legitimate reasons. I don't see humor that in the last few decades the U.S. has gone from the largest creditor on the globe to the biggest debtor, all of which happened under a so called conservative President (Ronald Reagan). All this unethical and self serving madness is rapidly coming home to roost. Most all empires of the past collapsed because the cost of maintaining a foreign empire of any sort was too great, and because the wealth at home became so accumulated by the very rich wealthy class at the expense first of the poor, and then the middle class. What is different for our empire situation are all the environmental problems, including species extinction and human overpopulation, which are descending on the entire globe. Some say we are past the point of return. It seems we very well might be. One can only hope not.
The word volunteer is a misnomer. While a good number really do volunteer because they want the thrill, excitement, and adrenaline rush that goes with combat, most are there because they need a job, and some are there for the same reason kids join gangs---they want to feel important and belong to some sort of 'family' values. Sad to say, but for some a military experience is the only time in their life where they will feel important, a genuine part of something. The old fashioned way of war with two uniformed armies going at each other is gone, probably gone for good. Modern weaponry is too sophisticated for that, with buttons to press to track and chase down any known soldiers. This leaves terrorism, on both sides really, as the primary method of assault. With more communication devices terrorists of any ilk, whether it be the 'good' guys or the 'bad' guys, can be carried out quite effectively without most terrorists having to ever actually meet each other. In places like Afghanistan most citizens have no source of income if they don't cooperate with whatever 'terrorist' group---uniformed soldiers or otherwise----who control their countryside for the time being. They don't fight for any of the reasons we babble on about, they fight to stay alive, to protect their families, to fight with whomever seems to be on the winning side. Residents of Afghanistan sometimes switch sides several times a year. To call this a war is a real stretch. It is unadulterated terror and torture by the Mollatoffs and Cheneyites of the globe. A war is something where people fight for land or religion or form of government. In Afghanistan the vast majority of people simply fight to stay alive, if one is permitted to use the word alive loosely. It is not much of a life.
At any rate the replacement of the military draft with a voluntary army has been a disaster. If frees up the military industrial complex, with all their lobbyists, to always find a reason to fight a war somewhere to justify the expense and existence of such a large employer. Lately, we can't win the conflicts no matter how many people we kill or displace from their homes and we can't afford the costs. Reinstate the draft and fund wars by a special tax on those making more than $100,000/yr and see how many wars the U.S. ever starts.
