WI after his re-election, President George W. Bush, reacting to the increasing strain of the US military in terms of available personnel to deploy to Iraq and Afghanistan, tries to implement a draft? And what would happen if he somehow persuaded Congress to allow him to do it?
WI: Bush tries the draft
- Thread starter Armored Diplomacy
- Start date
Snake Featherston
Banned
I don't think he could do it, first, and if he tried, he'd produce the biggest Democratic landslides since 1964 and the mother of all shitstorms.
So the Democrats utterly destroy the Republicans in 2006, and Bush can't do anything at all.
Don't you mean the people would do the utter destroying? After all, it is THE PEOPLE who decides who gets to go to that other Washington. The real question is that if there was a (D) majority, would they repeal it? Or rather would they try, since there is a high degree of probability it would just get the veto.
If the President gave the order to accept them, they would. I don't think they'd be happy about it. I bet the DIs get meaner trying to put people through basic who don't want to be there.
I wonder if the military would try to get around it if forced by DC? Maybe make sure that as few draftees as possible actually get deployed to warzones and instead use them in the US or Europe to free up volunteer army troops for combat?
Maybe not, but keep in mind that at the time, the US military was struggling to sustain the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan while at the same time keeping its global commitments, and it also knew that it would be in trouble if war with Iran or North Korea broke out. To top it all off, it failed to meet recruitment goals in 2005 (though it did meet them in '06). They tried a number of desperate measures, including raising the enlistment age to 42, deploying lots of National Guard units abroad, issuing "stop-loss" orders to unilaterally extend the service terms of soldiers beyond the date their term was to expire, and sending troops on multiple tours of duty.
Like they did during Viet Nam.
Two-thirds of those who served in Nam were Volunteers.You guys know what I personally think would have been the best solution to the US military's manpower shortage? An American Foreign Legion.
Think about it. There are literally millions of people worldwide, many of them skilled and educated, who want to emigrate to America. The US could have allowed foreign citizens to serve four years in the US military in exchange for a Green Card. This way, they have a huge pool of potential soldiers to pick and choose from, and can generally go after the best and brightest to avoid the problems that generally come with conscription.
Think about it. There are literally millions of people worldwide, many of them skilled and educated, who want to emigrate to America. The US could have allowed foreign citizens to serve four years in the US military in exchange for a Green Card. This way, they have a huge pool of potential soldiers to pick and choose from, and can generally go after the best and brightest to avoid the problems that generally come with conscription.
Would the military have found a draft worthwhile with the time it would take for one to be implemented and draftees trained? I think a big part of the stop-loss and Guard deployments was it provided an immediate source of trained troops.
MacCaulay
Banned
Then the Democrats completely destroy the GOP in the 2006 elections. And that's on top of all the freaking riots.
Good LORD there is NO WAY they could be THAT FREAKING STUPID.
I think there are already systems in place where foreign born members of the US military have an easier pass to citizenship. No seperate Foreign Legion though which could be interesting.
Not necessarily a foreign legion, but create an entire system for taking in troops from other countries, give it a government budget, and heavily advertise it all around the world.
WI they felt they had no choice? WI the military said that it's at breaking point, and at the very least, as has been suggested in this thread, it needs draftees to free professionals for the fight? Let's say, for example, recruitment goals in 2006 and 2007 are not met either, and the US military is literally on the brink?
MacCaulay
Banned
We already do that. If you join the US military, when you get out you can have citizenship.