Liberal> Mark Shields> Armies Don T Fight Wars Countries Fight Wars

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"Armies Don't Fight Wars, Countries Fight Wars"

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 week, the Bush administration extended the tours of active-duty soldiers in Afghanistan and Iraq to 15 months from the current 12 months. For Army fathers and mothers, this will mean more missed graduations, anniversaries and birthdays, and more strain on more marriages. The entire burden of fighting and sacrificing in this war has been on the shoulders of the nation's military and their families. The other 98 percent-plus of us have been repeatedly assured by our elected national leaders that we will not be asked to pay any price, to bear any burden. And we have mostly been silent.

Former New Hampshire Gov. John Sununu used to remind his audiences, "Never forget, we are all in this — alone."

But what has happened to the admirable American tradition of shared sacrifice? Can nothing shake us out of our iPod-"American Idol"-401k self-absorption? Is it true that the only public policy that concerns us is the policy that touches us personally and directly — that, as Ronald Reagan used to joke, when our neighbor loses his job it's only a recession, but when I lose my job then it's a depression?

Long before he would be elected to the U.S. Senate as a Democrat from Virginia, back when he was still a card-carrying Republican, Jim Webb — who as a Marine platoon leader and company commander in Vietnam earned the Navy Cross, a Silver Star, two Bronze Stars and two Purple Hearts — criticized "the complete separation of people in power in Washington from the people at peril in the Persian Gulf."

His words then remain true: "If the U.S.

military was truly representative of the country, you would have people going through the roof right now." The depersonalized, detached mindset of policymakers and think-tank commandos toward American soldiers and Marines outraged Webb: "Their attitude strikes me as: 'You volunteered. You took the money. Shut up, and die.'"

The United States does not have an all-volunteer military. It has an all-recruited force. In 2003, the Army and the Marine Corps paid $174 million for re-enlistment bonuses. Last year, we learned this week, that figure had jumped to $1.03 billion. According to Pentagon figures, immigrants in the military who became U.S. citizens through their service reached 4,600, a six-fold increase from 2001.

Bryan Bender of the Boston Globe has reported on serious consideration of the idea of opening U.S. military recruiting offices overseas. Would this be the final admission that Americans are not willing to sacrifice for their country?

To meet the recruitment quotas, the enlistment age for recruits has been raised to 42. Academic requirements have been lowered. Waivers have been granted to recruits for past alcohol and drug abuse, and criminal records. Reportedly, the word has been passed that nobody is to be flunked out of basic training.

This is not the way it was supposed to be. The strength of a nation, we know from the pain of history, is measured by that nation's will and resolve to stand together for the common good through individual sacrifice. Conservative author Michael Barone was right when he wrote, "War demands equality of sacrifice."

The United States in the 21st century has failed to meet these tests. A wise and just manpower policy was to be the foundation of our national security. The all-volunteer Army, it was agreed, was intended for peacetime. Any major military engagement would mean resumption of the draft. The reasoning was direct: If the goals of our nation are worth fighting for, then we ought not hesitate to ask all Americans to share the risk and the sacrifice of fighting. Do Americans in 2007 believe that a country — not just an army — fights a war?

To find out more about Mark Shields and read his past columns, visit the Creators Syndicate web page at www.creators.com.

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