US war czar says military draft should be considered. Starting with Neocons?

AFP

A top US military officer in charge of coordinating the US war effort in Iraq said Friday that it makes sense to consider a return of the draft to meet the US military's needs.

Lieutenant General Douglas Lute, who serves as a White House deputy national security adviser, said the all-volunteer military is serving "exceedingly well" and the administration has not decided it needs to be replaced with a draft.

But in an interview with National Public Radio, Lute said, "I think it makes sense to certainly consider it, and I can tell you, this has always been an option on the table."

"But ultimately, this is a policy matter between meeting the demands for the nations security by one means or another," he said.

Dana Perino, a White House spokeswoman, played down the general's remarks.

"The President believes an all volunteer military serves the country well and there is no discussion of returning to a draft. General Lute's comments are consistent with the President's stated policy," she said from Kennebunkport, Maine.

The United States did away with the draft in 1973 near the end of the Vietnam War.

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