Here is an excerpt from the Meet the Press transcript for December 19th, in which Tim Russert asked Senator Warner, a Republican, a pointed question about whether or not the draft will be reinstated (the full transcript can be read at http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6734557/):
"MR. RUSSERT: We're talking about the will of the Iraqi people and the will of the American people. Let me show you something from the Dallas Morning News that really caught my attention. "Army Reserve recruiting is in a `precipitous decline' that, if not slowed, could provoke new debate over a draft, the Reserve's top general, [Lt. Gen. James R. "Ron" Helmly] said. ... If the Army Reserve and other Reserve components fail to reverse recruiting shortfalls they have suffered this year, that could fuel debate over whether the country needs to abandon the all-volunteer force and return to conscription," the general said. ..."If the strains of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan erode the Pentagon's ability to field an all-volunteer force, `We will force the nation into an argument over that,'" meaning the draft.
Senator Warner, the country's not meeting its goal. People are not joining the Reserves because they don't want to go to Iraq, plain and simple. We've tripled the number of bonuses and on and on and on. At the end of next year, we will run out of Reserve and National Guard troops. They'll have done their 24 months duty. What do we do?
SEN. WARNER: We're not going to have a draft. Let's make that clear. I served in the Pentagon when we did have a draft as secretary of the Navy, and shortly thereafter, we took the gamble to eliminate it and go to the all-volunteer force. That force has been the finest force we've had in our military in the contemporary history of America. And at the moment, we are seeing some drop-off because of the stresses of this rotation policy. I'm not faulting the rotation policy. It's a matter of necessity. When we met with General Casey, he said, "I need additional troops" and the president and the secretary of Defense responded. He's getting them. He has them. But the point is, Congress has to make the decision on the draft, and the facts are not there now to propel Congress into considering that draft. Remember it was during the political election, that straw man was raised, and it was knocked down quickly on both sides.
MR. RUSSERT: Can we maintain 150,000 troops in Iraq without the Reserves meeting their targeted goals?
SEN. WARNER: I'm confident we can maintain it. It will put further stress, but those recruiting things turn around. Our Armed Services Committee has taken a lot of steps in this most recent piece of legislation to provide health care for reservists, additional G.I. benefits. I think this is a temporary drop and that it will swing back up."
