The thing is, the last thing the Pentagon wants is a draft. it's hard enough training and retaining folks who signed up in the first place — can you image a bunch of malcontents suiting up and getting in the way? "Stripes" was cute and all, but you don't really want them on the front line, even with their razzle-dazzle.

But at the same time, when point zero five percent of folks participate, and point zero five percent are contributing in any way, shape, or form, it's not good for public policy. If you don't pay, you don't play, and when we confuse "support" with "putting a yellow magnet on our cars," then we also lose track of the fact that the next generation is going to pay for this war (and current estimates are $50,000 per person, thanks to GWB's installment plan approach to financing OEF / OIF).

When there is no apparent cost, then both those who support and those who don't support the war get lost in the shuffle.