This is simply part of the lefts agenda of having a draft reinsated so they can blame Bush for it. The article here neglects to mention that the recruitment for Marines is stable and that air force and navy, and I would presume Coast Guard, are up. This drop in the army recruitment is probably temporary and will sort out sooner or later. The left loves to jump in and push the draft obliquely. It's hard to deride the Military when it is all volunteer, volunteers do not make good victims, draftees do!
The article doesn't advocate reinstating the draft at all, if you read it (the headline the NYT applied to it is somewhat overblown and misleading.)
"volunteers do not make good victims, draftees do!"
Bingo. Nothing irks the press more than to interview a wounded vet and hear him say that he wants to go back to help out his buddies.
The numbers are on the negative side and it is getting harder to recruit. Considering that Iraq will be the number one topic in the 2008 election...we have to complete the mission and start troop withdrawal by that point...or the Republican candidate (Condi of course)...will have a topic that she can't argue well in front of the American people. If we are still in Iraq with the same number of troops...the draft will likely start to become the number one topic of the congress in 2009. We won't be able to avoid it. Public support of the politicans or whoever is president...will be eroded and the stability of calling a draft will come into question.