Since a majority of our congressional representatives in both parties have voted to continue waging the war in Iraq indefinitely, thus expressing our democratic will, I advocate that the universal military draft should be re-instituted.

Though the facts regarding this war are clear, their interpretation is controversial. There is one fact that almost everyone is united on: that our troops in Iraq are brave and excellent people worthy of support.

Whatever confusion might have motivated some of them to enlist in the military, they are the sort of people who ask what they can do for their country. Both those who believe this war is a noble crusade, and those who believe it is a shameful quagmire, are united in giving verbal support for the sacrifices the war demands of these brave and altruistic people.

Since our National Guardsmen have been particularly overused and all our troops are being rotated back into the war for too many tours, why shouldn’t ROTC followed by immediate military service be mandatory for every healthy male and female student, particularly for students at the elite universities? Or maybe military service should precede college attendance?

Why shouldn’t “United We Stand” mean something more than “I’ve got mine” or “Why Pay More?”

William Hathaway

Surry