LINCOLN — Sen. Chuck Hagel, speaking to audience of Lincoln High School students, warned Tuesday that the nation may need to turn to compulsory military service "or some kind of draft" to support the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Questioned after his speech, Hagel, R-Neb., said he is not calling for reinstatement of the military draft.
But he said the growing difficulty of maintaining an adequate volunteer military force is "a reality."
"I'm just stating the obvious. At some point we're going to have to make a decision on how to attract a quality force," he said.
Hagel, a Vietnam veteran and Purple Heart recipient, spoke to more than 120 government and history students as part of a project to have veterans speak to students about their experiences.
The U.S. military draft ended in 1973, part of the bitter reaction to the Vietnam War.
Hagel told the Lincoln students that the burdens of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars are being carried by too small a share of the nation's population.
"We have more than 300 million people in this country, but less than 1 percent of our population has to bear all of the burden, to make all of the sacrifices, to do all the fighting and all the dying for the rest of us," he said.
"There are people serving in Iraq for the third time, in Afghanistan for the third time. They're ruining their families, suffering post-traumatic stress disorder and significant injuries. They're not going to bear that burden any longer," he said.
Hagel, who has been a prominent critic of President Bush's Iraq policies, said the nation must make a "difficult assessment" on whether to return to some kind of draft or other form of compulsory national service.
Students listened quietly and said little during Hagel's speech. At the end, Hagel took a handful of pre-selected questions that students had composed on Monday with the aid of their teachers.
Social studies teacher Bill Zuspan said he and his students have discussed the possibility of a draft in the past, and he knows how they will react to Hagel's comments.
"They don't like the idea," he said.
Hagel said he is "well-aware" of the sacrifices Lincoln High School has made in the Iraq war. Two graduates, Army 1st Lt. Garrison Avery, 23, and Marine Lance Cpl. Mike Scholl, 21, have died in Iraq.
He urged students to seek solutions besides war to the world's problems.
"Terrorism, extremism, biological weapons, chemical weapons, nuclear weapons — those are a threat to all mankind, not just Christians and not just Americans," he said.
"War is nothing noble or good; it's all about brutality and suffering, and that should frighten you and intimidate you into doing what's right, to prevent going to war."
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