“3. The Liberals are right (yes) when they say that we will only go to war with a draftee army when we care about the cause. I think we went into Iraq without really thinking things through. Now we are stuck with the consequences and we have no choice but to win. If we go to war with a draftee army, a lot of this politically correct crap will go out the window. The middle and upper classes will want to crush the opposition pronto with whatever means necessary to bring little Johnny & Julie home ASAP.
“4. Yes, Vietnam went sour with a draftee army—not because of the troops, but because the war was mismanaged by the politicians. Targets had to picked by Johnson himself fer chrissakes. Failing to crush the enemy over an extended period of time is a prescription for disaster.”
Friend, do you not see the contradiction of points 3 and 4?
You say in point No. 3 that with a conscripted army the war will be managed in such a ways as to get finished and get home. But in No. 4 you are telling us that a war with a conscripted army could also be sorely mismanaged (e.g. Viet Nam), so that the hoped-for result in No. 3 won’t take place.
Friend, do you not see the contradiction of points 3 and 4?
It is not really a contradiction. Again, in Vietnam the most who went were in the lower classes. Those who could afford it, got their kids college deferments. If the upper classes participate in a draft, there will be more pressure to win by whatever means necessary.
That being said, Lyndon B. Johnson was a political genius, but a military idiot. I think (hope) politicians have learned from his mistakes. Rule #1 — leave the day-to-day conduct of the war to the professional officers.
And yes, I have daughters too—though they are younger. But it doesn’t matter, if I lost any of my kids, it would totally devastate my wife and I. But I’d rather lose a kid, than lose the future.