Courtesy to Rebekah Sanderlin for providing some perspective on bin Laden’s death: http://atwar.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/05/03/we-got-him/

As bin Laden’s death provides a coda on our tumultuous, decade-long affair with taking over Middle Eastern countries, it only seems appropriate to pause and reflect on how far we’ve come, what we have done, and what 9/11 has done to us. We’ve probably all seen the footage of kids partying in New York at the news of bin Laden’s assassination (watching the media, you’d think all celebrations happen in New York). We’ve probably all vicariously imagined the kill shot in our heads. And while spontaneous celebration at this asshole’s death is perfectly warranted, it should also be tempered by some reflection of 9/11: all we lost that day, and all we’ve lost since. Allow me to raise an unpopular suggestion:

We need the draft.

Not immediately: our wars in Afghanistan and Iraq are closing down, but years from over. And mostly they have been handled by highly motivated, professional soldiers. Sending an influx of kids to war right now would probably actually hamper our military’s ability to conclude their missions.

But it is something we should consider the next time we take over a country. Not when bombarding Libya with Tomahawk cruise missiles or sending 20 SEALs into Pakistan for a surgical strike, but invading a country, toppling its government, and rebuilding one of our own.

The draft should be instated the next time we need to have serious boots on the ground and American lives in danger. The next time that we have 100,000 or 200,000 or 300,000 troops deployed overseas, we should have a draft. If the president or his administration can look at a nation and tell them we face an existential threat on the level of Nazi Germany or the Soviet Union, we need a draft. Because the way we fight wars today doesn’t work. Repeat: for nation-building, a volunteer army doesn’t work.

Never in our country’s history have we asked for such a huge sacrifice from so few. Less than 1% of the US population fought overseas in a war we were told had to be fought for the very existence of our country. A recruiter once told me their schedule was one year abroad, two at home. In Iraq and Afghanistan, soldiers have served double or even triple deployments. The Surge in Iraq restored order, but at a tremendous cost. Our military was so overtaxed that we had no credible military threat against Iran’s nuclear program, and the statistics on veterans’ mental health tell a story of broken families, drug addiction, homelessness, and post traumatic stress disorder. An American History of the 2000’s would be of a few million who made enormous sacrifices abroad, and a few hundred million who went about their daily lives.

A very good point can be made that drafted soldiers don’t fight as well as volunteers; they suffer higher casualties and defection rates. This is absolutely true. But our military uses Navy SEALS, Army Rangers, Marines, and other positions for special missions. In a 200,000 troop deployment, some positions could easily be filled by soldiers on the other side of the spectrum.

The reason we didn’t have a draft, of course, is because no one wants to be ordered to fight overseas. Politicians know this. But that has let us ignore the sacrifices our country made, in human lives and dollars. Since it doesn’t affect most of us, we don’t hear the names Marja, Fallujah, Tora Bora… at least, not every. single. day.

We often hear politicians (the most self-righteous class of our polity) say “I support our troops.” That means one thing when it’s putting a magnetic yellow ribbon (don’t damage your paint job!) on your bumper. It means something else entirely when it’s wearing black to your neighbor’s funeral.

A draft aligns our priorities with our country’s priorities: not what we wish they were. If call yourself a liberal, you probably “opposed” the war in Iraq. Did you get arrested in an act of conscientious objection to the war? Odds are very long against it. If the alternative was you (or somebody you love) serving two tours in Anbar province, would you have acted more strongly?

This week is a good opportunity to ask yourself what you contributed to the war effort. Our country (we) made a huge commitment in Iraq and Afghanistan. Have you even donated your tax cut to a veteran’s organization?

The last time we had a draft was in Vietnam, and the result was enormous social unrest. But at least everyone gave a shit. Thanks to the volunteers who gave a shit this decade and onward: next time, I hope there are more.