This is another article I have been holding onto for a long time and finally decided to post it.

Brian Tracy taught me one of the causes of failure is clinging to false or erroneous assumptions.

The false assumption here is a volunteer military is preferable to a conscripted military. You want to stop unnecessary wars? You want to fight to win and actually win? You want to ensure you are not underspending on the equipment needed today vs. the equipment you think you will need tomorrow? Really?

Then bring back a Lottery Draft with no deferments. Start qualifying people based on their sequence numbers with significant rewards for those who qualify and finish a term of service. Couple that with significant life penalties for those who do not. Fix it so the rich people's children may have to fight and die. Watch the ship of state right itself in a New York minute.

Some good ideas here, such as lifting the ban on gays, but otherwise fatally flawed.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/28/opinion/28sun1.html?_r=1&th&emc=th