In his landmark book on the American infantryman, respected military journalist George Wilson quoted Col. Steve Siegfried, a combat veteran, on why the United States must — in a time of war — have a military draft of civilians: "Armies don't fight wars. Countries fight wars. I hope to hell we learned that in Vietnam. ... A country fights a war. If it doesn't, then we shouldn't send an army."

Sadly, we have failed to learn what Siegfried sought to teach us. This we ...

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