Don't worry! Al and egbert will be enlisting this week!

Thank you. I'll be here all week.

If stabilizing and 'democratizing' Iraq is so absolutely critical not only to the future of the Middle East but also our war on terror, why didn't the administration join Democrats way back when some were vocally calling for instituting a draft?

Again, the simple explanation is that the political consequences for this administration of calling a draft are much greater than the political consequences of losing the war in Iraq... especially when that loss can be delayed until after Bush leaves office.

The only thing this administration is committed to right now (not the war, not the economy, not any legislative agenda) is simply running out the clock on both the war and any possible legal prosecutions brought by the Democratic congress.

At this rate, it looks like they Bush administration will manage to do just that and avoid absolutely any accountability for their actions, outside of the history books.

As the Democrats are unlikely to risk starting prosecutions against this administration in an election year, then we're really only looking at about a 3 or 4 month window (from September when the congress returns from its break). And we've seen nothing from this congress to suggest they're on the verge of anything, yet alone a major legal and political offensive. Hillary and Obama, for example, have chosen to duck even a semantic confrontation over whether the term 'liberal' applies to them or not. Good luck seeing anyone in congress actually raise the dreaded "I" word.

Thanks Democrats, due to your political cowardice it looks like the bad guys will get away with it again. Thanks Republicans, due to your political cowardice it looks like we'll be losing another war.

Amend: "Thanks Republicans, due to your political cowardice it looks like we'll be losing another war."

Thanks Republicans, due to your corruption, incompetence, cronyism, and complete lack of oversight or accountability PLUS political cowardice it looks like we'll be losing another war, giving Iran its greatest strategic advantage in perhaps 300 years, and giving al Qaida a dream recruiting environment.

Oh yeah, and our kids will now will have to pay back $10 trillion in new debt (an amount that doubles every 10 years with interest), owed primarily to our good friends China and Saudi Arabia.

It's hard to imagine any foreign enemy being able to harm this country as greatly as the Republican party has done in just the last 7 years.

(if you listen carefully, president Bush, you can hear the soft but impressed clapping of Osama bin Laden).

PS He's in Pakistan, jackass.

Augustus >"...It's hard to imagine any foreign enemy being able to harm this country as greatly as the Republican party has done in just the last 7 years..."

Well then, who might they be working for do you suppose ?

"For to win one hundred victories in one hundred battles is not the acme of skill. To subdue the enemy without fighting is the acme of skill" - Sun Tzu

Currently it looks like troops who can walk are being sent back for repeated tours of duty until they are either killed, injured, or so PTSD'd that even the Army's tame psychologists won't certify them fit for combat.

Furthermore I'd be willing to bet that the troops need to continue the surge after April 2008 will be found by extending tours to 18 months (a lot of time and anguish would be saved by just extending them to January 2009).

Even the most gung-ho soldier, sailor, or marine gets tired after 4+ tours of fighting for one man's ego.

So what. Recruiting is down one month, up strongly the next. It fluctuates. Liberals like to jump on one month in particular, but this is not an intellectually honest position and people like Kevin Drum who try and make a mountain out of a molehill deserve all the scorn that can be heaped upon them. Grow up, Kevin!

Congratulations, liberals. Your constant nay-saying and pessimism has caused patriotic Americans to doubt the wisdom of serving our country. Hopefully this will be a temporary phenomenon.

Do your part, Al -- enlist.

Would you want to enlist to go walk or drive around Baghdad in 100+ degree heat for no reason other than to wait to get shot at or get blown up by an IED???

Don't be fooled - we have no mission there, other than to protect George Bush's ego. NONE.

there are enough desperate unemployed kids coming out of shitty high schools to keep the cannons loaded...

Nah, it's to keep the cannons fed...

G'wan, Al, enlist. New Jersey needs another lawyer like NYC needs more bedbugs.

Small anecdote: A friend recently wanted to join up in the linguistics dept of the navy. Full enlist, nothing more to it, and was even a linguistics major in college (graduated).

Funny part is that one of her parents is a permanent resident (read:not a citizen) and turns out the linguistics field in the military would be off limits to her since rules put in place after 9/11. Of course she no longer was interested.

I'm glad - I think she can do much better economically elsewhere...

There are plenty of mercs eager to grab at those $200,000/year private security contractor jobs. There are about as many mercs in Iraq now as US military personnel.

There are plenty of mercs eager to grab at those $200,000/year private security contractor jobs. There are about as many mercs in Iraq now as US military personnel.
Posted by: Luther on July 26, 2007 at 11:09 AM
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This is one of the things that really annoys the hell out of me. Not only am I funding this stupid adventure with my tax money, MORE of my tax money is going indirectly into these people's pockets as well, with the added bonus of the companies they work for skimming a tidy profit off the top. It is more of the idiotic "free-markets solve everything" attitude of this administration and the era we currently live in. Just pay people enough and you will get the people you need. Excuse me... that's MY money. IF this whole thing was REALLY worth doing, they would have drafted the people needed and paid for it with higher taxes. But Augustus' comments above are spot-on:

"Again, the simple explanation is that the political consequences for this administration of calling a draft are much greater than the political consequences of losing the war in Iraq... especially when that loss can be delayed until after Bush leaves office."

Great, nothing like loaning a drunken gambling addict more money.

There are about as many mercs in Iraq now as US military personnel.

And unlike the real military which, in spite of lapses by individuals, has an institutional tradition of loyalty to the Constitution and the United States, these mercenaries are going to be loyal to whom, exactly?

You and I, as taxpayers, are paying them, of course, but their first loyalty is to whatever corporate entity is issuing the paychecks. This is not a healthy situation for a democracy.

Augustus:The only thing this administration is committed to right now (not the war, not the economy, not any legislative agenda) is simply running out the clock on both the war and any possible legal prosecutions brought by the Democratic congress.

Well, I don't know. The Republicans are working as hard as they can to help Bush turn the executive branch into an irresistible force, just in time to turn it over to Hillary Clinton, Barak Obama or John Edwards. The conspiracy seems to be very complicated.

You and I, as taxpayers, are paying them, of course, but their first loyalty is to whatever corporate entity is issuing the paychecks. This is not a healthy situation for a democracy.

As I've said before, when it comes to mercenaries if they turn on you, you kill them. That's part of the package with mercenaries. Though I do not think these contractors count as mercenaries as long as their companies are incorporated or have their principal place of business in the US.

An army without good sergeants is an army that functions poorly.

As I've said before, when it comes to mercenaries if they turn on you, you kill them.
Could be tough, with a poorly-functioning army.

as long as their companies are incorporated or have their principal place of business in the US
That's not necessarily the same thing as loyalty to the constitution, or to what we like to think our country stands for.

http://home.ourfuture.org/reports/report-war-profiteers.pdf
http://www.amnestyusa.org/annualreport/2006/overview.html

Re: the $200,000 contractors - the cynic in me has always had a sneaking suspicion about our poor Arabic interpreters discharged for being gay - these abused fellows probably turn right around and sign one of these contracts. Might be tempting enough to try to get a gay discharge. [FWIW I oppose discrimination against gays in the military and elsewhere.]

Also, I wonder why I hear crickets chirping on the left side of the blogosphere about the latest soldier/fabulist at The New Republic. I'd think that would be more newsworthy to Kevin than a one month blip in recruiting totals. or those interested in real news here's the link:

http://hotair.com/archives/2007/07/26/scott-thomas-revealed/

[FWIW I oppose discrimination against gays in the military and elsewhere.]

Given your support of the mendacious, incompetent anc corrupt Republican Party of George W. Bush, Dick Cheney and Karl Rove, minion, it isn't worth a bucket of piss.

"Also, I wonder why I hear crickets chirping on the left side of the blogosphere about the latest soldier/fabulist at The New Republic."

Becuase they are waiting to see how legit the whole thing is. Something the Repugs should try some time instead of piling on every hare-brained rumor.

Back in the Clinton era the Republicans yammered endlessly about the lack of an "exit strategy", whether it was Sudan, Kosovo or wherever. So when did exit strategies change from being vital and necessary to premature and treasonous?

minion, do you really think I am a reactionary that seizes on a bit of bad news? You know better.

June, following graduation ceremonies, is traditionally the best month for recruiting. And lets face it - if the Army didn't think it was a big deal, 1106 people would not have been suddenly reassigned, ordered to return to recruiting duties.

Follow Kevin's link, and follow the links I provided before you dismiss it as a one-month anomaly.

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