Onward, Conscript Soldiers!

Over the last two years, some have suggested the possibility of reinstating military conscription. No wonder. If President Bush is reelected in 2004, he will have no electoral restraints on his imperial ambitions. Given recent surveys indicating that a significant portion of active duty and reservist military personnel will not reenlist, the president will need to tap other sources for 'axis of evil' guerrillas to shoot.

Should these suggestions receive serious discussion among the ruling elite, prefaced on the demands of their masters in the worlds of finance, industry, and international Zionism, the American people can expect a barrage of 'patriotic' propaganda the likes of which has not been seen since World War II. The 'evil' forces standing against America will be rabidly demonized, like the 'Japs' and 'krauts' of yore, and the American people will be prodded along like a herd with never-ending terror alerts. Our national color will be orange.

Logically, the only sensible course of action in the face of such threats will be to take the fight to the enemy--before he gets us. The next enemy will likely be lurking somewhere in the Zagros Mountains of Iran or in terrorist training camps in Syria. The exact location of the bad guys will be provided by Israeli intelligence, serving not the narrow interests of Zionism and Israeli regional hegemony, but the worldwide effort to defeat terror. How fortunate for us and the world to have an impartial friend in the midst of such 'evil.'

Once those camel-jockeys are made, a massive aerial assault will ensue against all strategic and military targets inside Syria and Iran. Even though few and scattered, the mere presence of the agents of terror within these two countries will rightfully and necessarily subject every square inch of their territory to purification by the righteous might of America. It's part of that 'with us or against us,' 'harboring terrorists,' and 'providing a safe haven' thing.

Of course, oilfields, pipelines, refineries, and related infrastructure will be spared to defray the cost of 'liberation.' Those desert devils won't come to appreciate their liberation from savagery, idolatry, and religious tyranny if they do not share in its cost. Until these barbarians learn the eternal blessings that flow from a progressive income tax system, consider it their down payment on civilization.

Once the necessary judgment from the heavens is complete and the forces of evil have been vanquished by the shock waves from our divine aerial thunder, the armies of goodness will march forth to secure the formerly heathen lands in the name of that almighty god--democracy. Occupation forces will then 'promote' democracy. As our Puritan ancestors so wisely taught us, evil always exists somewhere and can never be completely purged from the Earth, even through the exhaustive efforts of the forces of righteousness.

At first, our government's professional military forces will establish their supply lines and construct heavily-fortified command centers from which they can begin the process of 'winning the hearts and minds' of the native population not killed, maimed, or made homeless or unemployed by the holy American rain of bullets and bombs.

If the natives prove ungrateful and even hostile to their liberators, the command centers will become protective fortresses from these insurgents and terrorists, most likely composed of remaining Saddam Hussein loyalists infiltrating from Iraq and maybe even a few North Korean regular army units (probably energized by Cuban sugar). And, let's not forget those local ingrates, leftovers from the previous Iranian and Syrian regimes unwilling to embrace a future filled with prosperity, freedom, and democracy.

As time passes, the monetary, military, and political cost of dead and maimed crusaders of righteousness and their high-tech equipment will mount. Back in God's country, the domestic flock, heavily propagandized and mentally sedated with endless apocalyptic and messianic platitudes from the president and his minions, will grow restless with the Great Crusade to rid the world of evildoers and spread the eternal light of democracy. You see, despite the administration's best efforts to sweep the dead under the carpet, hide the maimed in military hospitals, and impose press censorship through collusion and intimidation, thousands of families will know personally the costs of ridding the world of terror.

Military conscription will prove our saving grace. It will receive broad support from among the American public and the political classes alike, though for different reasons.

The political class, prodded along by that denizen of destruction--the military/industrial complex, bankers, and the powerful Zionist lobby, will see conscription as an opportunity to preserve the best trained and best equipped professional soldiers for future crusades and conquests.

Much of the American public, with thousands of communities negatively impacted by the economic and personal losses that always accompany prolonged military deployments, will embrace conscription. They will be victimized by a shift in government propaganda. The new sales pitch will emphasize the need for 'shared sacrifice' by all Americans.

It will be perfectly acceptable to place another's husband, son, brother, or father in mortal danger, even if against their will. It will be another example of the destructive effects of American egalitarianism--spread misery and suffering equally in the false belief that we'll all be better in the long run.

The all-volunteer force will become a true Praetorian Guard, protecting the political and economic elite and serving their interests. The political elite and their financial backers will no longer need to maintain the facade that the American military protects all of us from the evil in the world; it will protect them from us.

Any resistance to military conscription will be futile. Unlike the isolated threat from 'gooks' during the Vietnam War, the threat from Islamic fanatics has more than once proved very real to many Americans. A successful propaganda campaign will paint opposition to conscription and 'draft dodgers' as more than shirkers and cowards; they will be directly responsible for weakening national security and any death and destruction caused by renewed terrorist attacks. As this will surely constitute giving 'aid and comfort' to the enemies of the United States in the eyes of most Americans, treason will become a common crime.

At that point, Ayn Rand's warning, that 'the man who speaks to you of sacrifice, speaks of slaves and masters,' would be a long-forgotten proverb, applicable only to the historical enemies of the United States and freedom in general. It would not matter, though. By then, most of America will be cheering on the forcible enslavement and eventual destruction of its youth. Rather than listen to accumulated wisdom, they will sing hymns to 'sacrifice' in the name of freedom.