Resolved: The US should implement a military draft

I hope to do him and the topic justice in my following arguments, and look forward to a valuable exchange of ideas. I believe I have a unique take on this issue, since I served my country with pride, honor, and due diligence as a Korean Interpreter/Interrogator in the United States Army from 1989 to 1993. I did so without being conscripted, and would do so again if asked. I accept the resolution as stated and definitions my opponent graciously provided. I would like to add that only the US Army is the only branch which has relied on conscription in the past, popularly known in the US as "The Draft. " There are several reasons why I think, as many do, that the United States should not reinstate the draft. . But, in an effort to be concise – I shall limit my arguments to the most compelling. 1. It would be illegal. The Constitution forbids Congress to send conscripts off to fight an undeclared war, or to conduct a peacetime draft. The theory here is that while Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution empowers Congress to "provide for the common defense" and "raise and support armies," the framers simply meant to establish a professional army, composed of volunteers. Not draftees. Besides, Iraq and Afghanistan are undeclared wars. 2. A weaker argument, but still valid, is that it would violate the 13th and 14th amendments of the United States Constitution, which abolishes slavery and involuntary servitude, and establish due process - In 1918, the Supreme Court ruled that the World War I draft did not violate the United States Constitution. But Supreme Court rulings are subjects to their time periods. It is not an unfounded assumption that this issue is seen differently today. 13th - Section 1. Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction. Section 2. Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation. 14th No person shall be . .. deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law . .. . 3. Warfare has changed – There is no longer a need for massive human cannon fodder. Maybe in Napoleon's time, or even in Vietnam (debatable) but no longer. The military is high-tech, with battlefields controlled from 1000's of miles away. We have a more mobile force and a superiority in weapons and technology that is unrivaled. 4. It would lower morale – one of the most important attributes to an effective fighting force. The strength of a volunteer is their heart to do what they are doing – THEY WANT TO BE THERE. With a draft come people who would do their best not to be there, or are ineligible. ( Be it Conscientious Objectors, students, dodgers, or valid medical cases) The Vietnam War shows us this – besides being a most unpopular war, and the first time America "lost", over 500,000 draftees dodged the draft, and 70,000 of these went to Canada. Force someone to do something they do not want to do, and it negatively affects those around them. In summary, with a draft, the military would be expanded, thus increasing federal outlays for defense and further exacerbating the national debt. Most importantly, the draft would be a violation of the Constitutional rights of those drafted. A simple solution would be what many have suggested, raise the recruiting limits, offer more incentives to enlistees and those who wish to reenlist, and stay an all-volunteer PROFESSIONAL Army. An Army of the 21st century. Thank you, and I look forward to my opponents response. References - . http://www.landscaper.net... . http://www.snopes.com... . http://hasbrouck.org... Flynn, G. (2000). The Draft, 1940-1973. Lawrence, KS: University of Kansas Press. Gilliam, R. (1982). The Peacetime Draft: Voluntarism to Coercion. US Constitution