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McCain says only WWIII would bring back draft

Republican presidential candidate John McCain said Tuesday that he cannot see the U.S. returning to a military draft unless there is an “all-out” world war.

Asked during a town hall meeting about prospects for a return to conscription, McCain, an Arizona senator who is ranking Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee, said: “I don’t know what would make a draft happen except, perhaps, an all-out World War III.”

As the Iraq war extends into its fifth year and with concerns rising about what steps the U.S. and other nations, particularly Israel, might take against Iran because of its nuclear program, experts say the strain of extended deployments on the all-volunteer force is taking a heavy toll. U.S. military officials have even warned that the ground forces are nearing their breaking point.

Last fall, as he was campaigning in New Hampshire, McCain said he would consider a return to the draft only if it could be made fairer than the Vietnam-era version in which many people avoided any risk of being called up by using deferments. He said he “might consider” conscription if it were designed in a way “where everyone would serve.”

What would constitute an “all-out World War III” is not clear. McCain and other Republicans have talked about the war on terrorism as being the equivalent of World War III. But in terms of manpower, it has not achieved the status of an all-out war even though it has required the mobilization of large numbers of National Guard and reserve forces — which did not happen during Vietnam.

Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois, the Democratic presidential candidate, has said he does not support a military draft.

The U.S. canceled conscription in 1973 at the end of the Vietnam War, although 18-year-old males are still required to register with the Selective Service.