A DRAFT IN THE AIR?

If there was any doubt that Army recruiting is at an all-time low, recently
released tapes by high school student David McSwane shows that the Army is,
well, desperate. McSwane went to a recruiting station in Golden to see just
how far the Army would go to recruit one more solider. McSwane laid out a
few obstacles for the eager recruiters, like claiming marijuana addiction.
And there was also the nagging fact that McSwane didn't have a high school
diploma. No problem, said the Army. One of the recruiters even took McSwane
to buy a detoxification kit needed to pass drug screening.

Sadly, Army recruiters are getting more and more pressure to bend the
rules. A recent case in Ohio showed an Army recruiter who managed to enlist
a solider who was recently released from a mental institution. Overall,
April marks the third month that the Army has missed its recruiting goals.

While George W continues to ignore the issue, military experts are
grumbling about the U.S. military overextending itself. During testimony
before Congress on May 2, General Richard Myers of the Joint Chiefs of
Staff voiced concern that the continued deployment of U.S. troops in Iraq
and Afghanistan poses significant risks for future war plans. (It's
frightening that Myers is mentioning future military adventures at all. Can
we knock it off already?)

But if the generals are worried and recruiters are willing to fill the
Army's ranks with stoners and lunatics, we have to wonder if a draft can be
far behind.