We expect President Obama to announce an increase in troop levels in Afghanistan by some 34,000. We are cutting some troops from Iraq, but not as quickly and completely as we would like. The President says he will convince us Tuesday that he plans to finish the job in Afghanistan, and has a plan to do so.
I wish him luck with that.
There is only one problem: we do not have the resources for such an escalation. Rep. David Obey (D-WI), chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, has proposed treating war funding like health care and other bills, and pay for it. We don't have the money to pay for an increase in troops? Let's levy a war tax - he proposes a graduated surtax on income. It makes sense; we should have done it eight years ago.
But we also lack the human resources for the escalation. I understand that there are fewer troops in Iraq, but our forces have long been overextended. Deployments are too long, and troops do not have enough home time between deployments. We are still making some stay past their enlistments' end.
We are also using private contractors for many functions the military used to provide for itself, with a good deal of corruption and incompetence, so we have been billed for meals that never were delivered, or soldiers are electrocuted in the showers. Yet these same corporations continue to get contracts, often with little or no competitive bidding. There are reports of sexual abuse and rape leaving their women employees traumatized and without recourse.
Security also has been contracted out, leading to many questions concerning Blackwater personnel.
Furthermore, the strain on our troops is showing in increased mental and emotional problems. The increase in suicides in the military is particularly disturbing; the military used to have a lower rate than the general population, adjusted for age group. Now it is higher. There has also been an increase in family problems, including domestic violence and divorce. The strain is perhaps greatest on the Reserves and the National Guard, where deployments usually make for a loss of income, confusion about provision of medical services, etc. Substance abuse is on the rise. PTSD is rampant, and that is with the current instances of under-diagnosing it. There are already homeless Iraq and Afghanistan veterans.
Recruiters have been lowering the standards for enlistment. Recruits are enlisted who have criminal records, or have not graduated from high school. In one case I know of, they have been recruiting from special education classes.
Clearly this cannot continue. We do not have the ability to care for our troops adequately at current levels.
So, Mr. President, if you plan to increase our troops in Afghanistan, you should also reinstate the draft. I cannot see another way around the issue. I know that military leaders prefer the present volunteer force, but we are profligate in out use of our young men and women, and the only way to get the numbers we really need to get back to reasonable demands is with a draft.
This will also spread the burden out past the military families who have been suffering and sacrificing long enough without the rest of us carrying some share. Combined with Obey's war tax, it just might be possible to move ahead with a mission that is likely to outlast your presidency.
Personally, I can see no other way.