Chatter and fear about US military draft emerge as Trump's Iran war drags on

[groundloop]

Source: The Guardian



In recent weeks, Donald Trump has ordered a number of marines and army paratroopers to head to the Middle East, gesturing toward a possible ground war to reopen the strait of Hormuz or secure nuclear weapons material. The provocative military activity has led to speculative conversation about what it would take to invade a country twice the population and three times the territory of Iraq.

The White House has done little to end the debate. On 8 March, the White House press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, chose – seemingly offhandedly – to respond to conservative journalist Maria Bartiromo’s question about the possibility of a military draft in vague terms.

“The president, as commander-in-chief, wants to continue to assess the success of this military operation. It’s not part of the current plan right now, but the president, again, wisely keeps his options on table,” Leavitt said on Fox News. “There’s no greater priority or responsibility to this president than, of course, protecting the American people and protecting our troops.”

Because her answer was not conclusive, commentary about a draft snowballed from there. News organizations like Task and Purpose, Yahoo and USA Today ran stories about how a draft would work.

Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/mar/31/us-military-draft-fears-trump-iran-war

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Time for Barron to sign up.

[Lovie777]

1. OMG.................

[Blues Heron]

2. protect America, draft a puke! ICE to the front!

[SergeStorms]

6. MAGAts to the front.

Let them put their support where their mouths and precious guns are.

[xocetaceans]

3. Yes, Barron, Donnie Jr, Eric, Ivanka, and Jared all need to be on the front line in the first wave, as it were. All ...

... the other lesser-known Trumplings should be up there, too.

[usonian]

4. DRAFT ICE. Send those bravest, fiercest warriors to IRAN, every last one of them. SPARE BARRON!!!

https://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=21113536

Make Iran safe for Gillette Safety Razors!
SPECIAL IRANIAN MODEL




Such a nice razor. Others hurt so much that I stopped shaving.

• They are already "trained" (in random violence against civilians. Checks one box)

• Bonespur "victims" have already been weeded out.

• They are already government employees and must go where assigned. (saves TONS of paperwork)

• They already have weapons, and unspent budget money.
• They already have swell masks to protect from radioactive dust that bombing reactors creates.
• and (this is big)
• Their kill to loss ratio is infinite.

Danes agree!


(repost)

[IronLionZion]

5. Send ICE to Iran

[Fiendish Thingy]

7. There will be no draft

Trump is stupid, but I don’t see him ordering deactivation of the draft, and I don’t expect Hegseth or anyone else to advise him to.

If he is stupid enough to order boots on the ground, he will do what was done in Iraq- Stop Loss the troops, extending their tours and not rotating them out after a period of time,

[slightlv]

8. Yippers... I can see that easily...

Stop Loss the troops, extending their tours and not rotating them out after a period of time,

But he will be known as the president who waged a new Vietnam war in all its glory. Even with troops awol-ing, and draftees headed for the US exits.

[Martin68]

9. I'd love to see Trump institute a daft.

Good luck with that, MF!

[ToxMarz]

10. Presidential Authority: Under the 1973 War Powers Act

Presidential Authority: Under the 1973 War Powers Act, the president can deploy troops for 90 days, but cannot initiate a draft without legislative approval.

The last draft occurred in 1973, and although a 2024 measure automatically registers men 18-26 for Selective Service, a return to the draft would require a direct act of Congress.

A U.S. president cannot independently order a military draft for war. Congress holds the constitutional power to "raise and support Armies," meaning they must pass new legislation to authorize a draft, which the president would then sign. While the Selective Service System remains active, the authority to induct personnel expired in 1973.

[Wonder Why]

11. I am in favor of a draft but it should not be just one for military use. I believe all citizens, if able, should give

back to their country whether it be military, social work, serving to help or educate the poor and downtrodden or whatever. There is nothing wrong with men and women giving 2 years of their life to help others but too few are willing to do it voluntarily.

As to military draft, I thing a core of professionals are needed for quick action to protect the country, but for war, the one thing that makes us hesitate, is the knowledge that war is a last resort when we, ourselves, are the ones to go. That's not true when we can just close our eyes and let the professionals handle it. It wasn't the fact that we were in war that stopped it during the Vietnam days, but the fact that American men were drafted involuntarily and it made a lot of families realize it was their sons that would become fodder for it.