THE BURNED OVER DISTRICT

Except when they are in power.Daily Kos has an insightful post about our military problems, including:

1) The perception of US invulnerability has been shattered. After the US and its Northern Alliance allies routed the Taliban, the world quivered in the face of US military might. Saddam caved on every demand presented him -- destroy his missiles, allow inspectors back in.

The US could've used that perception to push for meaningful concessions in North Korea, Iran, and elsewhere. Instead, we're bogged down in an unecessary war in Iraq, our military spent and depleted, and with Americans unwilling to replenish the ranks. The diplomatic fallout is obvious, but our inability to use force as a tool is a bigger casualty.

2) The military has long been one of our nation's most effective tools for social promotioon. How many poor or lower middle class kids have taken advantage of the Army's educational benefits to get educated and climb the socio-economic ladder? Me, for one.

There have long been complaints about the overrepresentation of blacks and Latinos in our armed forces, often viewed as signs of inequity. Yet for many, the Army (and Marines, Air Force, and Navy) were a one-way ticket out of their ghettos, or trailer parks, or barrios. Here was a meritocratic mini-society more color-blind than any other in our nation. Where people of color where equally represented in the enlisted ranks from bottom all the way to the top.

The military was either an honorable career, or a stepping stool toward a college degree and all benefits that flow from that.

Yet I wouldn't join the Army of 2005, the way I did in August 1989. And severe recruitment shortfalls mean that thousands of kids who would've used the military for social advancement will not get a chance to do so.

Feeling safer?