I am an ardent pacifist but I believe that if we are going to fight wars, then all should be required to serve. Charlie Rangel, the long time Congressman of Harlem, convinced me of this a while back. We all know war is hell, but it is easy to forget how bad it really is if you are not connected to it. But if it was your friend, your brother, your son, you, then you’ll really have to think whether you actually support war or are against it. And if our leaders serve, they will know what war is actually about. Is it not surprising that neither Bush nor Cheney (and most of the cabinet for that matter) ever even came close to being in a war, let alone any of their children? Its easy to beat the drums of war when you are totally removed from the repercussions. “Forced military labor” is indeed frightening, but the other alternative is having the poor fight wars for the benefit of the rich. Its easy to criticize, but I don’t see any other alternatives being proposed that actually deals with this problem.