With growing complaints from a faction within the Republican leadership, the House Rules Committee has stripped language from the 2017 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) requiring women to register for the military draft.
With the military opening up combat roles for women, several military leaders have talked up the idea of adding women to the Selective Service registration system in the name of “fairness.” This has since been backed by the vast majority of Democrats and a solid number of Republicans.
Rep. Pete Sessions (R – TX), the head of the Rules Committee, is among the Republicans opposed to the expansion of the draft system, and both he and House Armed Services Committee chair Rep. Mac Thornberry (R – TX) have advocated exploring the possibility of eliminating the registration system entirely.
Selective Service was initially imposed by Congress in 1917, to raise conscripts for World War 1. Two further Selective Service Acts were passed in 1940 (ahead of WW2) and 1948, ahead of the Korean War. The 1948 law remains in place, albeit amended during the Vietnam War and terminated by President Ford in 1975.
Selective Service was restored by President Carter in 1980 as a move to “warn” the Soviet Union over the invasion of Afghanistan, and even though the Soviet Union and their occupation of Afghanistan are both long gone, has remained in place ever since. The Pentagon has expressed support for the registration system, but has repeatedly opposed the idea of drafting anybody, arguing they prefer a volunteer army.
The elimination of the language from the NDAA doesn’t end the effort, however, as the Draft Our Daughters Act of 2016 is still being pushed in both the House and Senate, with the Senate seen as more likely to support it.
Bravo! At last, the House removed language on drafting women from the NDAA spending bill; this action’s the most sensible one in years.
No civilized nation in history has ever drafted women for combat. Certainly, ancient Rome never had; neither had the Holy Roman Empire, nor European states from Medieval times to today. Not even ancient to 20th Century Asian nations sent women into battle .. and, this even included the savage Mongols in the 13th and 14th Centuries.
I’m overjoyed that the House has finally come to its senses and eliminated the language on drafting women into the military in combat roles. There are positions away from war zones and the front lines that women are quite efficient at holding.
Ever heard of Israel? I think they count as a civilized nation, and their women have been very successful soldiers. Moreover, just because something hasn’t been practiced widely historically does not mean it is a poor idea; would you make a similar argument against women’s suffrage? I think not.
The more people we can offer as fodder, the greater the impulse of the public to reject war as a policy directive. I say expand the draft to everyone, and widen the age range at that. Let’s get everyone terrified of being drafted. Then maybe politicians won’t be so gung ho about encouraging war, out of fear of losing their jobs.
I understand the temptation to try to achieve good ends by evil means, but it’s always a bad idea.
Other people aren’t your property. Yes, it’s really just as simple as that.