Danny
11-10-2005, 09:04 PM
Who Bears the Burden? Demographic Characteristics of U.S. Military Recruits Before and After 9/11
by Tim Kane, Ph.D.
Center for Data Analysis Report #05-08
A few Members of Congress, motivated by American combat in the Middle East, have called for the reinstatement of a compulsory military draft. The case for coercing young citizens to join the military is supposedly based on social jus*tice—that all should serve—and seems to be but*tressed by reports of shortfalls in voluntary enlistment. In a New York Times op-ed on Decem*ber 31, 2002, Representative Charles Rangel (D– NY) claimed, “A disproportionate number of the poor and members of minority groups make up the enlisted ranks of the military, while most priv*ileged Americans are underrepresented or absent.”[1] This claim is frequently repeated by crit*ics of the war in Iraq.[2] Aside from the logical fal*lacy that a draft is less offensive to justice than a voluntary policy, Rangel’s assertions about the demographic makeup of the enlisted military are not grounded in fact.
Heritage Foundation (http://www.heritage.org/Research/NationalSecurity/cda05-08.cfm)
by Tim Kane, Ph.D.
Center for Data Analysis Report #05-08
A few Members of Congress, motivated by American combat in the Middle East, have called for the reinstatement of a compulsory military draft. The case for coercing young citizens to join the military is supposedly based on social jus*tice—that all should serve—and seems to be but*tressed by reports of shortfalls in voluntary enlistment. In a New York Times op-ed on Decem*ber 31, 2002, Representative Charles Rangel (D– NY) claimed, “A disproportionate number of the poor and members of minority groups make up the enlisted ranks of the military, while most priv*ileged Americans are underrepresented or absent.”[1] This claim is frequently repeated by crit*ics of the war in Iraq.[2] Aside from the logical fal*lacy that a draft is less offensive to justice than a voluntary policy, Rangel’s assertions about the demographic makeup of the enlisted military are not grounded in fact.
Heritage Foundation (http://www.heritage.org/Research/NationalSecurity/cda05-08.cfm)