“Failure of an All-Volunteer Military”, published in the Boston Globe in 2007, Andrew Bacevich argues that our all-volunteer military has failed, with his thesis, “Failure to correct those defects will only invite more Iraqs – unnecessary wars that once begun prove unwinnable.” He writes of how the all-volunteer military was created, the separation of society and the military, government losing the power to draft, and citizens losing their voice in “how the military is used.” He then writes, citizens feel no “obligation” to the military thereby will not join. He states, American Society must be “reconciled” to the military giving back citizens a voice in “how the military is used,” ending with "…all share in the burden of national defense.”
Mr. Bacevich’s background is impeccable; he speaks with definite authority on this subject. Bacevich is a prior Army officer, Professor of International Relations and History at Boston University with a PhD in American Diplomatic History. His background supports his argument and his deductive reasoning leads the reader smoothly through his argument, but there are a few inconsistencies.
His argument about defects with the all volunteer-military is very convincing, but terrorists attacked our homeland, killing innocent Americans, if this war is “unnecessary” then we must ask forgiveness of Japan for bombing them after their attack on Pearl Harbor. Blanket statements do not help his cause, “Even today, although a clear majority of Americans want the Iraq war shut down”… Bacevich tone is aggressive, putting words in people’s mouths.
Bacevich’s aggressiveness continues with, “All Americans support the troops, yet support does not imply sacrifice. “Yellow-ribbon decals displayed on the back of ...
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...ands the moment the war tocsin sounds. The Long Gray Line has never failed us. Were you to do so, a million ghosts in olive drab, in brown khaki, in blue and gray, would rise from their white crosses thundering those magic words: Duty, Honor, Country. General Douglas MacArthur. “Sylvanus Thayer Award Acceptance Address”
Works Cited
Bacevich, Andrew J. “The Failure of an All-Volunteer Military.” Boston Globe 21 Jan. 2007: n.p. Rept. in
Sylvan Barnet & Hugo Bedau. Current Issues and Enduring Questions: A Guide to Critical Thinking and Argument, with Exercises. Boston: Bedford-St. Martin’s, 2011. 787-789. Print.
International Relations. Dept. faculty/alphabetical/Bacevich page.” Boston University
BU, 2011. Web 23 Sep. 2011
MacArthur, Douglas Gen. “Duty, Honor, Country.” americanrhetoric.com. AmaericanRhetoric.com, n.d.
Web. 23 Sep 2011