October 03, 2007

Abstract: (Angus Reid Global Monitor) - Many adults in the United States are against the return of conscription, according to a poll by Rasmussen Reports. 66 per cent of respondents think the U.S. should not have a military draft.

(Angus Reid Global Monitor) - Many adults in the United States are against the return of conscription, according to a poll by Rasmussen Reports. 66 per cent of respondents think the U.S. should not have a military draft.

American citizens have been drafted during various armed conflicts, including the two World Wars, the Korean War and the Vietnam War. The practice of conscription was discontinued in 1973, but the Selective Service System—which registers all adult males to assemble information on potential soldiers—remains in place as a contingency measure.

In October 2004, U.S. president George W. Bush issued a statement following calls to reinstate the draft, which read, "America’s all-volunteer military is the best in the world, and reinstating the draft would be bad policy." In April 2005, then-U.S. defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld declared, "I think the only people who could conceivably be talking about a draft are people who are speaking from pinnacles of near-perfect ignorance. The last thing we need is a draft. We just don’t."

Last year, Democratic New York congressman Charles Rangel reintroduced legislation which seeks to reinstate the military draft. In August, Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman declared: "There is absolutely no consideration being given to reinstituting a draft."

Original Release from Rasmussen Reports

Polling Data

Should the U.S. have a military draft?

 

Yes	24%
No	66%

Source: Rasmussen Reports
Methodology: Telephone interviews with 800 likely American voters, conducted on Sept. 26 and Sept. 27, 2007. Margin of error is 3 per cent.